The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2015-02-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has received on Equitable Life compensation packages; and if he will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
The Treasury continues to talk to many interested parties on this important issue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2015-02-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to review the level of compensation paid to Equitable Life policy holders; and if he will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government accepted all the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s findings of government maladministration and established the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Taking into account of the state of the public finances, to be fair to both policyholders and tax payers, the Government allocated £1.5 billion to fund payments to around one million Equitable Life policyholders. At 31 January 2015 payments surpassing £1 billion have been issued to 896,367 policyholders.
The Government is focussed on making the remaining payments to eligible policyholders and has no plans to increase the levels of funding available to the Scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Written Statement of 10 February 2015, HCWS273, on gifting of counter-IED equipment to Iraq, what protection will be provided to the members of the Armed Forces being deployed as part of the C-IED training package in Erbil.
Michael Fallon
UK Armed Forces personnel deploying to deliver the C-IED training in Erbil will conduct a comprehensive package of pre-deployment training and will be equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment. They will be armed for self defence purposes and the deployment will include a dedicated force protection element. Coalition partners will also provide force protection at the training location.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Written Statement of 10 February 2015, HCWS273, on gifting of counter-IED equipment to Iraq, how many members of the British Armed Forces are being deployed as part of the C-IED training package in Erbil; and what the time frame is for their deployment.
Michael Fallon
The UK will have around 30 personnel delivering counter IED training in Northern Iraq at Erbil, with a further two working in a supporting role in the Coalition headquarters. Subject to Parliamentary approval, training is due to commence in March and personnel will deliver training packages for at least six months, depending on demand.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Written Statement of 10 February 2015, HCWS273, on gifting of counter-IED equipment to Iraq, what ranks the members of the Armed Forces being deployed as part of the C-IED training package in Erbil are.
Michael Fallon
The ranks of the UK Armed Forces Personnel being deployed as part of the C-IED training package in Erbil will range from Private to Major.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of savings to the public purse arising from using Capita to administer personal independence payment assessments.
Mike Penning
Expenditure forecasts from the introduction of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are calculated on a national basis and it is therefore not possible to provide a breakdown in respect of areas where administration of PIP has been contracted to Capita.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of Capita in fulfilling its contract to administer personal independence payments.
Mike Penning
I refer the right Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 58-59W, to the hon. Member for Edinburgh East (Sheila Gilmore).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force personnel of each rank have been in breach of their harmony guidelines in each year since 2010.
Anna Soubry
The “Harmony Guidelines” are used by the Services to strike a balance between deployment, training and time with families. Individual Harmony Guidelines (IHG) are different for the three Services, equating to no more than 660 days away from home over a rolling three year period for the Naval Service, no more than 415 days away in a 30 month rolling period for the Army and no more than 280 days away over in the previous 24 months for the Royal Air Force.
The tables below show the information available in respect of breaches of harmony guidelines, by percentage in each year, by rank, since 2010 to the latest date available (1 January 2014 for the RAF or 1 March 2014 for the Naval Service and the Army).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what changes have been made to the contracts of personnel moved from DE&S to the Navy Command from 1 April 2014 as part of the Defence Transformation Programme.
Mr Philip Dunne
No contracts of employment were altered or amended as a result of the transfer of the Naval Base Operating Centre from Defence Equipment and Support to Navy Command on 1 April 2014 as part of the Defence Transformation Programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2014-05-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what arrangements are in place to ensure that the pupil premium for service children is used for its intended purposes.
Mr David Laws
Headteachers are responsible for selecting the most appropriate interventions to support their service pupils, including pastoral support or interventions to improve attainment.
They are held accountable for the use of this additional funding in two ways. Firstly, through the Ofsted inspection framework where inspectors focus on the attainment of different groups of pupils, including those who attract the service premium. Secondly, schools are required to publish online how much service pupil premium funding they receive, how it is spent and the impact it has made.