Tag: Philip Davies

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much Bradford Metropolitan District Council received from central government in grants in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins

In 2014-15, Bradford Metropolitan District Council is forecast to receive £655 million in government grants, excluding mandatory housing benefits, equivalent to £3,112 per dwelling. Per dwelling, this is in the top 20 highest in England. Including mandatory housing benefits, the forecast is £838 million (source: Revenue Account budget returns).

In addition to this, Bradford Metropolitan District residents will also benefit from government grant funding to the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, to the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority and to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

We do not hold detailed information on all the individual grants paid out across government departments over the time period.

However, leaving aside schools spending which has changed due to the funding shift from local authorities to academies, in 2014-15, Bradford Metropoliton District Council’s net current expenditure excluding education is forecast to be £596 million (source: Revenue Account budget returns). This compares with £548 million in 2009-10 (source: Revenue Outturn returns), and is thus an increase in cash terms.

Of course, every bit of the public sector needs to do its bit to pay off the deficit left by the last Administration, including local government which accounts for a quarter of all public spending. Yet these figures illustrate how claims in some parts of the local government sector about “cuts” are over-stated and mislead the public.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of police hunts for all prisoners who have absconded or escaped from prisons in each of the last five years.

Damian Green

This information is not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential for misuse of the kinship carer system.

Mr Edward Timpson

Children live with kinship carers for a wide range of reasons: parental difficulties, mental or physical ill health, divorce or separation, imprisonment or bereavement. The circumstances and legal statuses of children and carers in these arrangements vary widely. There is not, therefore, a single “kinship carer system” and for this reason the Government has not given consideration to making an assessment of the potential for any general misuse of kinship care arrangements

In 2011, the Department for Education issued ‘Family and Friends Care: Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities’,[1] this guidance is clear that children and young people unable to live with their parents should receive the support they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare, whether or not they are looked after.

[1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-act-1989-family-and-friends-care

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the extent of dog fighting in the UK.

George Eustice

We have not been provided with any recent estimate of the extent of dog fighting by either the police or animal welfare organisations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what cross-departmental government scrutiny will take place of the forthcoming Implementing and Delegated Acts of the EU Tobacco Products Directive.

Jane Ellison

During the negotiations on the revised Tobacco Products Directive, the Government sought to ensure that any delegation of powers to the European Commission, to propose further rules, was limited, appropriate and well defined. The Government’s proposed negotiating position on any Implementing and Delegated Acts put forward by the Commission will be subject to the normal cross government clearance and scrutiny procedures.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 406W, on remand in custody, what proportion of the total number of defendants charged with the relevant offences the figures represent.

Jeremy Wright

The table below shows the total number of defendants proceeded against for the specified offence groups and the number of defendants who were remanded in custody, broken down by sex. It also shows the percentage of defendants remanded in custody out of the total number of defendants proceeded against for the specified offence categories.