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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s distributed ledger technology benefits payments trial, what blockchain technology is being used for that trial; whether he plans to dismantle that blockchain technology once that trial has ended; and which organisations outside the Government will have access to (a) that blockchain technology and (b) the data stored as part of that trial.

    Damian Hinds

    The DWP works continuously with industry partners to identify and test new innovations that could save taxpayer money, safeguard information and better protect payments to customers.

    The DWP is undertaking some small scale research involving blockchain technology which is expected to last 3-6 months with the results available in the last quarter of 2016. It uses a private permissioned distributed ledger to allow participants to store their transactions, including payments from DWP. Those transactions can then be viewed securely on a mobile application so that they can, if they wish, monitor and allocate their spending into categories, check their available balance and plan future spending. There are currently about 12 people in the trial which we expect to increase to around 24 people by the close.

    The participants in the trial have complete control over their data and how it is used; the government does not receive or see any of that data. The DWP takes privacy and security extremely seriously and this will form part of the learning from the trial.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of requests made to slaughterhouses with CCTV to release their footage for independent review in each of the last five years; and in how many of those cases that footage was released.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Food Standards Agency (FSA) Authorised Officers can and do review CCTV footage with the permission of the Food Business Operator (FBO). Where they have grounds to believe an offence has occurred FSA Authorised Officers can seize footage relevant to the offence.

    As part of the regular audit and/or inspection process in slaughterhouses an Authorised Officer may ask an FBO for access to CCTV footage. Whilst the outcome of the reviewed footage will be recorded at a local level we do not keep a national log of such requests and therefore the FSA does not hold a record of this information. Similarly, we do not keep a national record of the number of cases where CCTV footage was released.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects the business case for universal credit to be signed off in full.

    Priti Patel

    The 2nd Permanent Secretary to the Treasury explained to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the 10 December 2014 (see link below), the process for Business Case approvals within Government. The first stage of this process, the Strategic Outline Business Case, was agreed in September 2014. The next step, the Outline Business Case, has been agreed at official level and is now with Treasury Ministers for approval. The Full Business Case will follow for approval by the end of 2017. This is in line with the process within Government and a Programme of the scale and complexity of Universal Credit.

    http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/public-accounts-committee/universal-credit-progress-update/oral/16340.html

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  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any Special Intelligence Service officers have been posted at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan since October 2001.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    There is no Special Intelligence Service. Should the question be referring to the Secret Intelligence Service, which does exist, then it is a long-standing policy of successive British governments not to comment on intelligence matters.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what consultation he has had with the Scottish Parliament on the consultation period on the repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998 and its replacement with a British Bill of Rights.

    Dominic Raab

    We have already sought views and will continue to engage with the devolved administrations to deliver a modernised and reformed human rights framework for the whole of the United Kingdom. We are committed to consulting fully on our proposals prior to the introduction of any legislation and will announce further details in due course.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many jobs are expected to be created in (a) the supply chain and (b) other areas as an indirect result of (i) new nuclear builds in Moorside and (ii) Solway Firth Tidal Lagoon project, West Cumbria.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Nugen is proposing to build three AP1000 reactors at Moorside in Cumbria. Nugen have indicated that Moorside would bring at least £10 billion of investment into the UK with estimated peak on-site employment of up to 6,000 during construction. During operation the reactors could sustain about 1,000 permanent jobs, with many more created through local and regional supply chains including in construction, manufacturing and engineering, although estimated numbers are not yet available.

    Regarding the Solway Firth Tidal Lagoon, the proposed project is in the early stages of development. It is too early to say how many jobs could be created.

  • Lucy Allan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lucy Allan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Allan on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date the leases for HM Revenue and Customs offices Abbey House and Parkside Court will end.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) occupies Abbey House, Telford, under the terms of its property outsourcing contract (STEPS) with Mapeley rather than under a traditional lease. The STEPS contract expires in April 2021, and includes flexibility for HMRC to vacate properties prior to 2021 as well as rights of occupation beyond this date.

    HMRC occupies Parkside Court, Telford under the terms of an inter-departmental accommodation sharing arrangement with the Land Registry. The arrangement is due to expire on 4 January 2017 and includes rights of renewal for HMRC in line with the over-arching departmental estate strategy.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the number of people from the North East of England working offshore in each year since 2010.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Oil and Gas UK in the UK Continental Shelf Offshore Workforce Demographics Report 2015 estimate that of the total number of offshore workers resident in the UK, 13.8 per cent (7,711) live in the North East of England.

  • Lord Condon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Condon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the 10 most recently appointed Chief Constables in the UK were not internal candidates from the appointing police force, and over what period of time those appointments have taken place.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Three of the ten most recently appointed chief constables in England and Wales were not internal candidates from the appointing police force, although eight of the chief constables have served as a chief officer outside of the force.

    These appointments have taken place over the period from June 2015 to March 2016.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider the introduction of a programme to reduce or write off student loans for top graduates entering teaching or social work in areas (a) of high social need and (b) struggling to recruit to such professions.

    Nick Gibb

    Recruiting sufficient, high-quality teachers is central to the Government’s ambition to deliver educational excellence everywhere. High-quality teachers are the single most important factor determining how well pupils achieve in schools. That is why we have already committed to spend over £1.3 billion on teacher recruitment up to 2020. This includes continuing to provide generous tax-free teacher training bursaries to graduates, which are worth up to £30,000 for academic year 2016/17.

    More trainee teachers started training in 2015/16 than in 2014/15, and a record proportion of new trainees held a first class degree. For courses beginning in 2016/17, so far around 26,000 people have secured a teacher training place, and we have already recruited in excess of targets in primary and several secondary subjects.

    We review the financial incentives for teacher training every year, and we will continue to test new approaches to recruiting teachers, such as the STEM teacher supply package announced in March 2015.

    Recruiting and retaining high quality social workers is essential to ensure we deliver high quality services to vulnerable children and families. As already announced, the Government will consult on the future funding of social work education in order to ensure that there will be an adequate supply of social workers with the right skills and training. This is part of a wider, ongoing programme which has seen investment of over £700m since 2010 in social worker training and improvement programmes, including support for a range of routes to expand entry into the profession such as Frontline, a scheme specifically aimed at bringing top graduates into social work, and Step Up.