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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, 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.

    Mr Francis Maude

    Details of meetings held by Ministers and Permanent Secretaries with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found at Gov.uk.

    Information on meetings by other officials is not held centrally.

  • 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, on which occasions Ministers in his Department have taken decisions on (a) moving prisoners into open conditions and (b) releasing prisoners on temporary licence since May 2010.

    Jeremy Wright

    An indeterminate sentence prisoner is transferred to open conditions only after a robust risk assessment and, in most cases, upon the recommendation of the independent Parole Board. In making its risk assessment, the Parole Board is provided with reports from a range of professional staff from within the National Offender Management Service, all of whom can be required to attend the Parole Board hearing and give evidence directly to the Board if required to do so. In making its recommendation, the Board’s overriding priority at all times is the safety of the public.

    Decisions as to whether to accept a Parole Board recommendation to transfer an indeterminate sentence prisoner to open conditions or to direct the transfer of such a prisoner without a Parole Board recommendation are taken by officials within the National Offender Management Service on behalf of Ministers, in accordance with the Carltona principle. Such decisions are not referred to Ministers.

    Decisions to transfer determinate sentence prisoners to open conditions are taken by population managers within the National Offender Management Service. Only prisoners who have been thoroughly risk assessed and categorised as suitable for open conditions will be considered for transfer to open prisons. Decisions on re-categorising prisoners as suitable for open conditions are taken by experienced prison staff with input from offender managers, healthcare and other professional staff using recent information about the prisoner including behaviour whilst in closed conditions, security and intelligence information and any other risk information that might demonstrate the prisoner’s proven trustworthiness. Decisions are not taken by ministers.

    Decisions to release prisoners on temporary licence (ROTL) are taken by prison governors and directors, or their delegates, on behalf of the Secretary of State and in line with national guidance issued by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). Decisions are taken on the basis of recommendations from a risk assessment board that has taken account of the nature of the offence and any indentified risk factors, the position of known victims, the offender’s record on previous ROTL; their behaviour in prison and progress in tackling their offending behaviour, and any other specific areas of concern relevant to that case. Decisions are not taken by Ministers.

  • Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their stated intention of building more houses, what is their assessment of the ability of the United Kingdom building supplies industry to provide bricks, timber and other materials; and what measures they are taking to encourage growth in the building supplies industry to provide sufficient materials to ensure the success of the house building programme.

    Viscount Younger of Leckie

    The Government has noted advice from the Construction Products Association that there is no general lack of capacity in UK products manufacturers. The Association advises that only 19 per cent of companies producing heavy building materials are currently operating at near capacity. As the products sector adjusts to the return to growth it expects that capacity will increase further in response to demand.

  • 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 practical steps are being taken to ensure that the experiences and interests of children with fetal valproate syndrome and their families are represented as an integral part of patient involvement at every level of the reformed National Health Service.

    Earl Howe

    NHS England has developed a delivery model which sets out a systematic approach to the way that it works. Each aspect of its work is underpinned by a commitment to increase patient experience, engagement and participation. This is reflected in their business plan 2014-15 to 2016-17.

    In September 2013, it launched a package of measures designed to ensure that the voices of patients, their carers and the public are at the centre of healthcare services.

    ‘Transforming Participation in Health and Care – The NHS belongs to us all’ has been developed by NHS England with a wide range of stakeholders and partners. Its purpose is to support commissioners to improve individual and public participation and to better understand and respond to the needs of the communities they serve.

    It supports two legal duties requiring clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and commissioners in NHS England to enable:

    – patients and carers to participate in planning, managing and making decisions about their care and treatment, through the services they commission; and

    – the effective participation of the public in the commissioning process itself, so that services provided reflect the needs of local people.

    The guidance highlights a range of ways in which National Health Service commissioners can fulfil their statutory responsibilities and seize the opportunity to deliver personalised and responsive care to all. It includes a wide range of tools, resources and case studies that commissioners will find useful when developing their own responses.

    The guidance is a starting point and NHS England will be working with partners to develop further resources to support commissioners to develop their approaches to both individual and public participation.

    The reforms to the health and social care system set out in the Health and Social Care Act have also emphasised the need for integration. Central to these reforms is the establishment of statutory health and wellbeing boards to encourage local authorities to take a more strategic approach to providing integrated health and local government services. The boards are intended to bring together bodies from the NHS, public and local government, including Healthwatch as the patient’s voice, jointly to plan how best to meet local health and care needs, and to commission services accordingly.

  • Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are in place for a person who was granted a royal pardon between 1987 and 1997 to resist a subsequent prosecution for the crime for which that person has been pardoned in the event of new evidence emerging and the lack of knowledge by the prosecuting authorities of the existence of such a pardon given the absence of records of such pardons having been granted.

    Baroness Randerson

    Following a search of the records held by the Northern Ireland Office, no evidence has been found to indicate that between 1987 and 1997, the RPM was used to do anything other than to remit (i.e. shorten) the sentences of individuals who had already been convicted of offences. It is therefore the release from custody that demonstrates the exercise of the RPM.

  • 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 employers registered in (a) Washington and Sunderland West constituency, (b) the Sunderland local authority area and (c) the North East region have been the subject of enforcement action 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 proportion of staff within his Department who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

    Andrea Leadsom

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 433W, by the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

  • 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 consideration his Office gives to the diversity policies and records of businesses or other organisations when considering their bid for commercial contracts or grants.

    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 targets his Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

    Hugh Robertson

    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 proportion of staff within her Department who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    Declaration of ethnicity for staff at DFID is voluntary and it is therefore not possible to confirm the ethnicity of any staff who have been subject to disciplinary proceedings.