Tag: Parliamentary Question

Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will ensure that all standards explicitly linked to the Renewable Heat Incentive are non-commercialised and publicly available to all relevant parties who may wish to offer services related to the implementation of that initiative.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department is currently working with industry to establish the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) as a legal entity. The accessibility of MCS standards referenced in the RHI regulations will be considered as part of that process to ensure that those standards which are mandatory for the purpose of the RHI remain publicly available.

01/01/2023
Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making the drug nabilone available on the NHS for people with multiple sclerosis.

George Freeman

We have made no such assessment. Nabilone is not licensed for use in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

01/01/2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Questions 28144 and 28086, if her Department will take into account, when making a decision on granting right to abode, the fact that the British-Hong Kong servicemen swore an oath of allegiance to the Monarchy.

James Brokenshire

The assessment of the request by former members of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps that they be granted right of abode in the UK is under consideration. This will take into account all available information.

01/01/2023
Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what impact assessment has been conducted on the change in the method of payment of Disability Living Allowance to being solely into a bank account.

Justin Tomlinson

There has been no change to the method of payment policy in relation to benefit and pension payments.

DWP is committed to battling financial exclusion and helping more people to move towards, and benefit from, mainstream banking. Direct Payment into a bank, building society or credit union account is the most efficient, secure and reliable way of making payments and is the preferred way to make benefit payments. Government paying departments would like all of their customers to benefit from the advantages of a mainstream account.

Although the majority of benefit and pension payments are paid into a bank account we do recognise that some customers remain unable to access such services. Arrangements are in place to ensure those customers can access their money.

01/01/2023
Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to ensure that multi-academy trusts are accountable to people living in the localities in which they operate; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

Academies, just like all schools, are subject to strong accountability, both to government and locally, including parents. All academies are subject to Ofsted inspection, and through Parent View parents can tell Ofsted what they think about their child’s school, from the quality of teaching to dealing with bullying and poor behaviour. If a parent has concerns about their child’s school they can raise with the Education Funding Agency who can investigate.

01/01/2023
Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria are used to require local authorities to contract out the statutory children’s social work services; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

The following local authorities are currently rated as ‘inadequate’ under Ofsted’s Single Inspection Framework:

Birmingham, Bromley, Buckinghamshire, Coventry, Cumbria, Darlington, Doncaster, Dudley, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancashire, Leicester City, Manchester, Norfolk, Reading, Rotherham, Sandwell, Slough, Somerset, Sunderland, Surrey, Torbay, Wandsworth, West Berkshire and Wirral.

The Government does not use set criteria to require local authorities to contract out their statutory children’s social care services.

The Department for Education has statutory powers to intervene in local authority children’s services under section 497A of the Education Act 1996. This legislation allows the Department to remove day-to-day operational control of children’s services from the local authority, for a period of time, if the Secretary of State believes that the local authority is failing to secure its relevant statutory functions by delivering children’s services to the required standard.

As a matter of policy, the Government has decided that any authority rated by Ofsted as ‘inadequate’ across all the key judgements in any one Ofsted inspection is deemed to be failing ‘systemically’, and any authority that is rated inadequate twice overall in any five year period is deemed to be failing persistently.

In these circumstances the Secretary of State appoints a children’s services commissioner to review services and then provide advice to the Secretary of State on whether they should remain in local authority control.

Once the Secretary of State has received the commissioner’s advice, she will decide whether to direct the authority to enter into a contract with a third party – for instance a Children’s Services Trust – to deliver those services on its behalf.

01/01/2023
Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from The Law Officers’ Departments in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

Robert Buckland

All of the Law Officers’ Departments exercise appropriate controls over the purchasing and issue of stationery to mitigate against any potential for material loss or theft. However no central records are held of stationery items that may have been lost or stolen and it is therefore not possible to make any estimates without incurring a disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-11-23.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs spent on discretionary payments in respect of administrative errors in each financial year since 2010-11.

Mr David Gauke

Information relating to complaints handling can be obtained from the HMRC Annual Report and Accounts.

01/01/2023

Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of applications for Disclosure and Barring Service checks (a) nationally, (b) in London and (c) in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency met each of the service’s published service standards for waiting times in each year since 2012.

Karen Bradley

The following tables shows the proportion of applications for DBS checks that met the Published Service Standards for waiting times nationally and for applications received from people residing in London postcodes in each year since December 2012:

Table 1: All applications nationally

Period	Total Apps Despatched	21 Calendar Day Target	21 Day Achievement	56 Calendar Day Target	56 Day Achievement
Dec-12 to Mar-13	1,223,773	85%	89.4%	95%	99.1%
Apr-13 to Mar-14	3,948,733	85%	85.2%	95%	97.4%
Apr-14 to Mar-15	4,111,856	85%	85.3%	95%	95.1%
Apr-15 to Nov-15	2,911,934	85%	86.5%	95%	94.9%

Table 2: Applications from London postcodes

Period	Total Apps Despatched	21 Calendar Day Target	21 Day Achievement	56 Calendar Day Target	56 Day Achievement
Dec-12 to Mar-13	124,908	85%	83.4%	95%	98.7%
Apr-13 to Mar-14	398,168	85%	80.2%	95%	95.9%
Apr-14 to Mar-15	420,783	85%	81.8%	95%	89.0%
Apr-15 to Nov-15	293,549	85%	84.1%	95%	86.8%

It is not possible to provide the figure for applications from Hampstead and Kilburn constituency as this information is not collected.

01/01/2023

Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-01-29.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will publish (a) a risk analysis, (b) an assessment of the planned transfer of staff, (c) the timetable for TUPE transfers and (d) the date of commencement of consultation with relevant trade unions in relation to the replacement of the HMRC IT Aspire contract.

Mr David Gauke

Through the Aspire Replacement Programme, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has considered a wide range of risks that could impact the successful replacement of this contract. The Programme is part of the Government Major Projects Portfolio. The governance bodies for the Programme include senior representatives from across HMRC, Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, in addition to key external expertise from industry.

Due to commercial confidentiality, HMRC is not in a position to give more details of its plans at this stage.

HMRC has an ongoing two-way dialogue with relevant trades unions about all matters that affect the Department.

01/01/2023