Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Sir Peter Bottomley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sir Peter Bottomley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Peter Bottomley on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (a) started and concluded its investigation into Benjamin Mire; and what steps that Office subsequently took.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The investigation into Mr Mire’s conduct was initiated by the President of the Residential Property Tribunal in accordance with the Judicial Complaints (Tribunals) Rules 2008 and the Judicial Discipline (Prescribed Procedures) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office was advised of the complaint against Mr Mire on the 13 October 2011.

    The investigation was conducted in accordance with the Regulations and ceased upon Mr Mire’s resignation as a Valuer Chair of the Southern Property Tribunal on the 16 July 2013.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many chemistry teachers undertook a chemistry subject knowledge enhancement course in each of the last five years.

    Mr David Laws

    There are two types of subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses: pre initial teacher training (ITT) SKE, to support recruitment of trainee teachers in shortage subjects; and post ITT SKE, to support workforce challenges in schools.

    We have surpassed our target for trainees entering chemistry teacher training in each of the last three years, recruiting 121% of the target in 2011/12, 108% in 2012/13, and 127% in 2013/14.

    In addition, the latest annual School Workforce Census (2013)[1] shows that 80.4% of chemistry teachers who teach pupils from years 7 to 13 have a relevant post-A Level qualification, up from 72.7% in the 2010 census[2].

    Data for the number of chemistry SKE courses for 2009-2013 is below. Post ITT SKE courses were available only from the academic year 2011/12. SKE course data for 2013/14 is not yet available.

    Academic year

    Number of pre ITT chemistry SKE courses undertaken

    Number of post ITT chemistry SKE courses undertaken

    2009/10

    577

    N/A

    2010/11

    522

    N/A

    2011/12

    574

    87

    2012/13

    399

    91

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2013

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2010-provisional

  • Andrew Bingham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Bingham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bingham on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many packages of books delivered to HM Prison Manchester were found to contain drugs in each of the last five years.

    Jeremy Wright

    Prisons employ a range of measures to detect, disrupt and deter the trafficking of drugs into prisons. This is particularly the case at HMP Manchester which is a High Security prison. Over the last 5 years there have been 53 recorded attempts to smuggle drugs into Manchester by post – all were in letters.

    In common with many other prisons, HMP Manchester does not allow books to be sent direct to prisoners in packages because of the ease with which illicit items may be concealed. As such there have been no recorded incidents of drugs been sent in packages of books over the last 5 years. Prisoners may order books through the prison from approved suppliers and can borrow books from the prison library.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 30 October 2012, Official Report, column 146W, on food: charitable donations, and 7 March 2013, Official Report, column 1105, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) the Food Standards Agency has made of the compatibility of legislation to remove criminal and civil liability from good faith food donors with EU food safety laws.

    Jane Ellison

    We are advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that consideration was given to whether an exemption from European Union food safety law was available in respect of donations of food for charitable purposes in 2012. The FSA’s view at that time was that no exemption is available and as the FSA’s advice has not changed it does not consider that any further assessment of the issue is necessary.

    The FSA published guidance on its web site in July 2013 on which charitable and community food provision does not require registration. This can be found at:

    http://multimedia.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/hall-provision.pdf

    Food supply not requiring registration is exempt from the requirements of food hygiene legislation although all such provision is still required to provide food that is safe.

  • John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what levels of stock his Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables.

    David Mundell

    In recent years, as e-communication has increased, the expenditure on stationery items has decreased. This coupled with rigorous control measures, has enabled the Scotland Office to maintain a low level of stock of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables.

  • Geraint Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Geraint Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geraint Davies on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funds have been provided from his departmental expenditure limit to meet the costs of (a) clinical negligence and (b) NHS litigation in this financial year.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    £1.2 billion has been budgeted by the National Health Service Litigation Authority for the current 2014-15 financial year. £1.1 billion of this is allocated to clinical negligence, by far the most significant proportion of which is funded by members’ contributions, rather than allocated directly from the Department’s expenditure limit.

  • Bill Esterson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Bill Esterson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many coastguard operations room staff have applied for both new posts in the new coastguard structure and voluntary redundancy.

    Stephen Hammond

    As at 14 April 2014, of those Coastguards currently working in a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, 86 have applied for both new posts in the new coastguard structure and voluntary redundancy, 140 have applied for voluntary redundancy only and 128 have applied for a new post in the new coastguard structure only.

  • Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Ainsworth on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase the reporting of domestic and sexual violence offences by victims.

    Norman Baker

    Domestic and sexual violence are devastating crimes and are not acceptable
    within our society. The Coalition Government’s continued approach to tackling
    such violence and abuse is set out in our Violence against Women and Girls
    Action Plan, updated in March 2014.

    Supporting victims is at the heart of this approach, which includes giving
    victims more confidence to report, and it is encouraging that police recorded
    crime figures show more victims are having the confidence to come forward.

    The Government has ring-fenced nearly £40 million of stable funding from 2010
    up to 2015 for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services,
    rape crisis centres, the national domestic violence helplines and stalking
    helpline.

    Over the spending review period the Home Office funding of £28 million provides
    for:
    144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisers, 87 dedicated Independent
    Sexual Violence Advisers, 54 Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference
    Co-ordinators, and funding to Coordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse
    to provide support and advice to MARACs, as well as running a programme
    of quality assurance and £1.2 million for three years from 2012 to improve
    services for young people suffering sexual violence in major urban areas.
    £900,000 a year is used towards the running costs of national helplines for
    victims of domestic violence and stalking.

    In 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
    Constabulary to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with
    domestic violence and abuse. HMIC’s report exposed significant failings. In
    response to the Review, the Home Secretary has established a National
    Oversight Group, which she is chairing, and on which I sit, to ensure HMIC’s
    recommendations are acted upon. The Group met for the first time on 10 June.

    The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it clear that
    every police force must have an action plan in place by September 2014, to
    improve their response to domestic violence and abuse.

  • Mary Macleod – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mary Macleod – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Macleod on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many job vacancies there are in (a) London, (b) the London Borough of Hounslow and (c) Brentford and Isleworth constituency.

    Esther McVey

    Headline figures on the number of unfilled vacancies at a point in time are published by the Office for National Statistics, based on a regular survey of employers. Latest figures, covering January-March 2014, show over 600,000 vacancies available in the UK economy at any one time. The sample size of the survey is, however, too small to allow information to be published below national level.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what definition is used by HM Passport Office of a straightforward application for passports for the purpose of setting internal targets; and if this definition has been amended since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    A straightforward application is one where all the required information,
    including supporting documentation, is provided, the application is signed and
    no further enquiries are required in order to progress the application.