Tag: William Wragg

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will place in the Library copies of all letters, leaflets and other material from her Department circulated to (a) stakeholders and (b) members of the public on the EU referendum; what the costs of the production and distribution of that material has been since 1 January 2016; and what she estimates the cost of any further production and distribution of such material will be between 6 May 2016 and 23 June 2016.

Mr Ben Wallace

I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer given by my hon Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (John Penrose) UIN 38825.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-03.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many migrants from (a) the EU, (b) the EEA and (c) countries outside the EU have settled in the UK since 1 January 2004 in each (i) region and (ii) local authority area where they have settled.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on reaching a decision on NHS England’s commissioning responsibilities for drugs capable of preventing HIV infection in high-risk groups.

Nicola Blackwood

In September the Court of Appeal heard an appeal against an earlier judgement of the High Court, which ruled that NHS England does have powers to commission pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people at risk of contracting HIV. Judgement is still awaited. No decisions on commissioning of PrEP have yet been made.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve prisons’ engagement with employers; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Selous

Supporting offenders into meaningful employment is a vital aspect of the Government’s approach to rehabilitation.

We already work with a wide range of employers in prison through One3One Solutions and engagement by Prison Governors. And we want Governors to do more so we are putting the tools to drive this change in the hands of those at the frontline who best know what works.

We are keen to increase the number of employers who can provide valuable vocational work for offenders while in prison and who are able to offer them support in preparation for release and employment opportunities following their release.

I regularly meet businesses across the country including at two successful roadshows at HMP Sudbury and HMP/YOI Drake Hall, and most recently at HMP Wayland where local media have supported our campaign. New businesses are now coming on board as a consequence. The Employers Forum for Reducing Reoffending brings together employers willing to employ offenders and we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to increase the involvement of more businesses.

The Prime Minister has announced changes to recruitment practises across the civil service to ensure that people are considered on their merits and not on their criminal conviction and we want to encourage more employers to do the same.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking ensure that UK overseas aid is spent effectively and transparently.

Mr Desmond Swayne

As set out in the aid strategy, UK aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest, the government will ensure that every penny of money spent delivers value for taxpayers, and projects that do not will be cancelled. Departments follow good financial management principles set out in HM Treasury guidance in ‘Managing Public Money’ for all their expenditure. In addition, ODA spend is subject to scrutiny by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact. The UK Aid Strategy also commits all departments to achieving greater levels of transparency in aid spend.

DFID has robust internal processes such as strong ministerial oversight, mandatory reviews on all programmes, detailed management information for use at all levels of the organisation including on project performance and quality. Other departments will have their own arrangements and DFID will continue to share good practice advice with them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions his Department has had with representatives from the higher education and further education sector on the EU referendum.

John Penrose

Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are routinely published in transparency returns available on the Gov.uk website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will place in the Library copies of all letters, leaflets and other material from 10 Downing Street circulated to (a) stakeholders and (b) members of the public on the EU referendum; what the costs of the production and distribution of that material has been since 1 January 2016; and what he estimates the cost of any further production and distribution of such material will be between 6 May 2016 and 23 June 2016.

John Penrose

Copies of the Government’s published documents on the Referendum are available in the Libraries of both Houses. It is not normal practice to publish letters to members of the public and stakeholders. Costs relating to the Referendum will be accounted for in the usual way in Annual Report and Accounts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the HM Treasury analysis: the long term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives did not include an assessment of the potential effect on the UK economy of a potential reduction in GDP in the EU.

Mr David Gauke

The main estimates in the HM Treasury analysis are based on the EU as it is today, without further reform. The total cost of leaving is likely to be higher. If the economic benefits of reform are realised this could increase UK GDP by up to a further 4% – which equates to £2,800 for every household in the UK. With the UK outside the EU these economic reforms would be less likely to happen. So the cost of exit in terms of the potential loss of GDP would be correspondingly greater.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguards are in place to protect the privacy of victims and witnesses in historic sex abuse cases.

Dr Phillip Lee

Victims of specific sexual offences, including historical sex abuse cases, are automatically provided with lifetime anonymity, by way of reporting restrictions, from the point of complaint. Anonymity is granted in recognition of the nature of the offence against them and to encourage other victims to come forward.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what provisions his Department has put in place to improve rolling stock as part of the rail franchise package for the North West.

Andrew Jones

The new Northern and TransPennine Express franchises commenced on the 1^st April. By the end of 2019, they will have introduced significant improvements in Rolling Stock.

The Northern franchise will deliver:-

• 281 new carriages including 55 new Diesel and 43 new Electric trains – the first ever new trains specified for the Northern franchise
• Additional diesel units cascaded from other franchises – refurbished to ‘as new’ standard
• Removal of all Pacer trains by October 2019
• All retained trains will be refurbished as new including Wi-Fi, media servers, passenger information systems, CCTV and accessible toilets with baby-change facilities

This means that 30% of this expanded fleet will be new and will operate 2000 more services per week –a 12% increase. The additional trains will provide a 37% increase in morning peak capacity into the North’s 5 major cities by December 2019.

The TransPennine franchise will deliver:-

• 220 new carriages
• All existing trains will be refurbished as new including Wi-Fi, additional power sockets, and real-time passenger information systems

This means that 70% of fleet is new, the fleet size increases by two-thirds, provides 13million more seats, an 80% increase in morning peak seats by the end of 2019.

These delivery plans as bid by the two operators during the Invitation to Tender process have been contracted within the franchise agreements.