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33825

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	22/01/2014
	date	20/01/2014
	date tabled	20/01/2014
	ddp created	21/01/2014 00:00:26
	ddp modified	07/02/2015 01:15:13
	answering body	HM Treasury
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	identifier	184094
	legislature	25259
	parliament number	55
	question first answered	13/05/2014 12:00:00
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employers participated in the regional employer National Insurance contributions holiday in each region.
	session	2013/14
	session number	3
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff South and Penarth
	tabling member printed	Stephen Doughty
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2013/14 184094
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	184094
	version	2
	written parliamentary question type	Ordinary
	answer	answer is ministerial correction answer text <p>This Government is committed to helping UK businesses grow and create jobs. The NICs holiday was a temporary, targeted scheme to help start ups take on new staff within their first year of trading. Although take up was lower than expected, the holiday benefitted over 26,000 businesses and supported over 90,000 jobs.</p><p> </p><p>Building on the lessons learnt from the holiday, we are taking action to reduce the employer NICs burden on small businesses and have created the new Employment Allowance which is simple to administer, permanent and available to all business and charities in the UK, this is reducing their employer NICs bill by up to £2,000 each year. As a result, 450,000 employers will pay no NICs at all in 2014-15.</p><p> </p><p>According to the latest available figures the break down of employers that applied for the National Insurance Holiday by region, throughout the scheme is as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Region</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Northern Ireland</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1265</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Scotland</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>3975</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Wales</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1695</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>East Midlands</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2645</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>North East</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1840</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>North West</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>4840</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>South West</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>3975</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>West Midlands</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>3100</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Yorks</strong><strong>. And Humber</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>3265</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>26600</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The NICs Holiday attracted around 26,600 applicants over a three year period. Further statistical information on the scheme is available on a factsheet at: <a href="http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/nics-hol.htm" target="_blank">http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/nics-hol.htm</a>. The factsheet only covers periods from the start of the scheme to December 2012.</p><p> </p> question first answered 13/05/2014 12:00:00
	creator	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty
	publisher	25259
	tabling member	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty

34720

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	27/01/2014
	date	23/01/2014
	date tabled	23/01/2014
	ddp created	23/01/2014 21:10:35
	ddp modified	07/02/2015 01:23:53
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	identifier	184873
	legislature	25259
	parliament number	55
	question first answered	14/05/2014 12:00:00
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many households in England received a weekly general, all-purpose, rubbish collection service in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013.
	session	2013/14
	session number	3
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield South East
	tabling member printed	Mr Clive Betts
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2013/14 184873
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	184873
	version	2
	written parliamentary question type	Ordinary
	answer	answer is ministerial correction answer text <p> </p><p><em>Labour's legacy</em></p><p>The last Labour Government had a policy of actively pushing fortnightly bin collections and hitting hard-working families with new bin charges.Their ‘Household Waste Prevention Policy Side Research Programme' advocated “collection limitations in terms of rubbish bin size or the interval between collections”, and sought to “nationalise this policy among local authorities”. Cutting weekly rubbish collections was not a locally-led initiative, but an explicit Whitehall mission pursued with the zeal of a convert.</p><p>Legislation in 2005 allowed the introduction of bin fines for minor breaches of complex and confusing bin rules; further legislation in 2008 watered down councils' legal duties to collect rubbish. Guidance issued in 2005 advised town halls that councillors should be bullied to stop them opposing the axing of collections or proposing to restore weekly collections. It also recommended that cutting collections should be done after local elections – to avoid the nuisance of democratic opposition. The Government funded the covert imposition of “bin brother” microchips into families' bins. The 2009 Pre-Budget Report made clear that a further wave of bin cuts were being planned. In short, the “Town Hall Talibin” doubled council tax and halved bin collections.</p><p>We disagree. This Government believes that households deserve a frequent and comprehensive rubbish and recycling service in return for the £122 a month in council tax that a typical household pays (Band D), especially given the typical refuse collection service only costs councils £6 to £7 per month to provide.</p><p><em>What we've done</em></p><p>We have taken a series of steps to help households:</p><p> </p><p>· Issued the first ever Whitehall guidance on weekly bin collections, demolishing the myths that fortnightly bin collections are needed to save money or increase recycling;</p><p> </p><p>· Stopped the Audit Commission inspections which marked down councils who do not adopt fortnightly rubbish collections, and rejected the Audit Commission guidance which advocated fortnightly collections (<em>Waste Management: The Strategic Challenge</em> and <em>Waste Management Quick Guide</em>).</p><p> </p><p>· Abolished the Local Area Agreements and National Indicator 191 imposed by Whitehall which created perverse incentives to downgrade waste collection services;</p><p> </p><p>· Scrapped the Whitehall requirement for municipal Annual Efficiency Statements, which allowed a reduction in the frequency of a household rubbish collection service to qualify as a “valid efficiency” and allowed revenue from bin fines to classed as a “cashable efficiency gain”;</p><p> </p><p>· Scrapped the imposition of eco-towns which would have had fortnightly bin collections and/or bin taxes as part of the “eco-standards”;</p><p> </p><p>· Safeguarded weekly collections for 6 million households through the Weekly Collection Support Scheme as well as championing innovation and best practice;</p><p> </p><p>· Supported over 40 innovative reward schemes to back recycling through the Weekly Collection Support Scheme (as pledged in the Coalition Agreement);</p><p> </p><p>· Through the Localism Act, revoked the 2008 legislation that allowed for the imposition of new bin taxes;</p><p> </p><p>· Issued guidance to stop the imposition of illegal ‘backdoor bin charging' on households bins;</p><p> </p><p>· Stopped funding the ‘Waste Improvement Network' which told councils to adopt fortnightly collections as best practice;</p><p> </p><p>· Challenged the incorrect interpretation by some bodies that European Union directives require fortnightly collections, and resisted the imposition of bin taxes by the European Union;</p><p> </p><p>· Removing powers of entry and snooping powers from “Binquisition” inspectors and scrapped guidance telling councils to rifle through families' bins;</p><p> </p><p>· Changing building regulations to tackle ‘bin blight'; and</p><p> </p><p>· Changing the law through the Deregulation Bill to scrap unfair bin fines.</p><p>In short, this has been a fundamentally different approach from the Labour Government: we are working with families to help them go green, but believe in proper, regular and comprehensive collections for taxpaying households.</p><p>The configuration of services is complex. The table below, based on available estimates from WRAP, provide the most detailed information held on the breakdown of refuse and recycling collections of ‘smelly' rubbish across councils in England.</p><p><em>Weekly collections of smelly rubbish</em></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><em>Councils</em></p></td><td><p><em>Weekly Residual + Separate Weekly Food Waste</em></p></td><td><p><em>Weekly Residual + Weekly mixed food and garden waste</em></p></td><td><p><em>Weekly Residual + fortnightly mixed food and garden waste</em></p></td><td><p><em>Weekly Residual and no separate food waste collection</em></p></td><td><p><em>Weekly Food Waste + Fortnightly Residual</em></p></td><td><p><em>Weekly mixed food and garden waste + Fortnightly Residual </em></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-11</p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>189</p></td><td><p>45</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-11</p></td><td><p>31</p></td><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>190</p></td><td><p>52</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-12</p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>189</p></td><td><p>54</p></td><td><p>11</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Feb-12</p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>182</p></td><td><p>58</p></td><td><p>11</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-12</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>181</p></td><td><p>61</p></td><td><p>12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-12</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>179</p></td><td><p>62</p></td><td><p>12</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><em>Households</em></p></td><td><p><em>Weekly Residual + Separate Weekly Food Waste</em></p></td><td><p><em>Weekly Residual + Weekly mixed food and garden waste</em></p></td><td><p><em>Weekly Residual + fortnightly mixed food and garden waste</em></p></td><td><p><em>Weekly collection and no separate food waste collection</em></p></td><td><p><em>Weekly Food Waste + Fortnightly Residual</em></p></td><td><p><em>Weekly mixed food and garden waste + Fortnightly Residual </em></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-11</p></td><td><p>1,296,296</p></td><td><p>405,719</p></td><td><p>718,292</p></td><td><p>10,480,876</p></td><td><p>1,750,654</p></td><td><p>353,001</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-11</p></td><td><p>1,079,984</p></td><td><p>479,151</p></td><td><p>998,017</p></td><td><p>9,694,524</p></td><td><p>2,197,166</p></td><td><p>542,695</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-12</p></td><td><p>1,141,584</p></td><td><p>441,151</p></td><td><p>998,017</p></td><td><p>9,341,759</p></td><td><p>2,426,531</p></td><td><p>602,695</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Feb-12</p></td><td><p>1,124,040</p></td><td><p>441,151</p></td><td><p>861,447</p></td><td><p>9,064,454</p></td><td><p>2,571,575</p></td><td><p>602,695</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-12</p></td><td><p>1,378,876</p></td><td><p>440,812</p></td><td><p>851,915</p></td><td><p>8,239,673</p></td><td><p>2,896,107</p></td><td><p>747,024</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-12</p></td><td><p>1,386,876</p></td><td><p>440,812</p></td><td><p>747,915</p></td><td><p>7,885,321</p></td><td><p>2,981,513</p></td><td><p>747,024</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><em>Fortnightly collections</em></p><p> </p><table><thead><tr><td><p><em>Councils</em></p></td><td><p><em>Fortnightly mixed food and garden waste + Fortnightly Residual</em></p></td><td><p><em>Fortnightly residual and no separate food waste collection</em></p></td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p>Jun-11</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>143</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-11</p></td><td><p>41</p></td><td><p>142</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-12</p></td><td><p>41</p></td><td><p>144</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Feb-12</p></td><td><p>44</p></td><td><p>149</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-12</p></td><td><p>47</p></td><td><p>145</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-12</p></td><td><p>49</p></td><td><p>147</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table><thead><tr><td><p><em>Households</em></p></td><td><p><em>Fortnightly mixed food and garden waste + Fortnightly Residual</em></p></td><td><p><em>Fortnightly residual and no separate food waste collection</em></p></td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p>Jun-11</p></td><td><p>1,668,211</p></td><td><p>5,879,808</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-11</p></td><td><p>1,838,632</p></td><td><p>6,014,336</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-12</p></td><td><p>1,860,532</p></td><td><p>6,032,245</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Feb-12</p></td><td><p>2,034,102</p></td><td><p>6,145,050</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-12</p></td><td><p>2,170,143</p></td><td><p>6,173,402</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-12</p></td><td><p>2,319,143</p></td><td><p>6,389,348</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Note: Some councils may have a combination of the categories in the table below and have been counted under each one that they provide.</p><p>This shows that 14 million households in England have some form of weekly collection of smelly rubbish. Had the Government not taken the actions it had, weekly collections would have disappeared in England by 2015. This simple assertion can be illustrated by the extinction of weekly collections in most of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which have devolved Administrations and policies of supporting fortnightly bin collections. Indeed, in Wales, the Labour-led Welsh Government now has a policy of supporting monthly bin collections (Welsh Government, <em>Municipal Sector Plan Part 1</em>, March 2011 and Welsh Government, <em>Cabinet decision, Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development, Additional Funding for Zero Waste Gurnos</em>, February 2012).</p><p>We have stopped the rot, but there is more to do to support weekly bin collections. Many town hall jobsworths, over-zealous NGOs and vested interests in the waste industry remain blindly obsessed with restricting bin collections as a perverse policy goal in itself, and this is reflected in the figures in the table above. Indeed, even Keep Britain Tidy – which one would think would want regular rubbish collections to keep the streets clean – has been taken over by a NGO (Waste Watch) which campaigns for fortnightly bin collections. Bin collections are not viewed as a public service – but as a policy tool to deliver other arbitrary policy goals.</p><p><em>More to do</em></p><p>One option which should be considered is a minimum service standard – for example, the Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 already lays down minimum service requirements for recycling, and indeed, the Public Health Act 1875 introduced a duty on local authorities to collect rubbish; this duty was enhanced by the Public Health Act 1936 obliging them to collect household waste weekly which existed until 1974.</p><p>Moving forward, we are open to representations on how best to support frequent and comprehensive rubbish and recycling service; stand up for taxpayers' interests from arbitrary state charges and taxes; and protect the local environment, public health and local amenity from the nuisance of stinking rubbish.</p><p> </p><p> </p> question first answered 14/05/2014 12:00:00
	creator	394 label Biography information for Mr Clive Betts
	publisher	25259
	tabling member	394 label Biography information for Mr Clive Betts

35841

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	03/02/2014
	date	29/01/2014
	date tabled	29/01/2014
	ddp created	29/01/2014 23:50:52
	ddp modified	07/02/2015 01:33:37
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	identifier	185824
	legislature	25259
	parliament number	55
	question first answered	02/04/2014 12:00:00
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much HM Courts and Tribunal Service spent on interpreters in 2011, 2012 and 2013; how much was spent on interpreting each language in those years; and how much was paid by defendants towards these costs.
	session	2013/14
	session number	3
	tabling member constituency	Preston
	tabling member printed	Mark Hendrick
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2013/14 185824
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	185824
	version	2
	written parliamentary question type	Ordinary
	answer	answer is ministerial correction answer text <p>The Department does not hold centrally all of the information that the Honourable Member has requested. Although we can not provide all the data on spend for the periods requested we can provide the annual spend for interpreters sourced through the Capita-TI Contract for Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service as below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Calendar Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£7,940,128.79</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£15,537,821.29</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Off Contract bookings made by HMCTS are outside of these spend figures. The number of bookings made off contract has substantially decreased since the start of 2012 with those bookings moving onto the Capita TI contract. This move from off contract to Capita TI is reflected in the changing year on year contract spend.</p><p> </p><p>Spend for 2012 is based on an 11 month period as the contract did not go live until 30th January 2012. Expenditure has also increased in the second year of contract due to changes made to the contract in May 2013 and an estimated 20% increase on volume. £15m was saved in year one of the contract.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In this instance to provide the requested information on total annual spend and spend by language, would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £850.00 or 4 ½ working days.</p><p> </p><p>In order to provide the information we would be required toobtain a number of large reports from electronic databases. The relevant data must then be manually extracted and collated. It would also require comparison against additional financial data before analysis. We estimate that this process for the spend data would take approximately 6 working days given the volume of data involved.</p><p> </p><p>Defendants in criminal cases do not contribute towards the costs of interpreters that are provided by HMCTS. Charges for HMCTS provided interpreters in civil, family and tribunal cases are not passed directly to parties, although the costs may be recovered from court and tribunal fees in the jurisdictions where they apply.</p><p> </p> question first answered 02/04/2014 12:00:00
	creator	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick
	publisher	25259
	tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

36327

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	05/02/2014
	date	31/01/2014
	date tabled	31/01/2014
	ddp created	31/01/2014 17:30:17
	ddp modified	07/02/2015 01:37:45
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	identifier	186157
	legislature	25259
	parliament number	55
	question first answered	02/04/2014 12:00:00
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the value was of fines that were (a) issued and (b) uncollected in each of the last four years.
	session	2013/14
	session number	3
	tabling member constituency	Tooting
	tabling member printed	Sadiq Khan
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2013/14 186157
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	186157
	version	2
	written parliamentary question type	NamedDay
	answer	answer is ministerial correction answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>The value of fines imposed, collected, cancelled and outstanding for the periods from April 2011 onwards are set out below.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Period</p></td><td><p>Value of fines imposed</p></td><td><p>Value of fine collected in the same period they were imposed</p></td><td><p>Value of fines cancelled in the same period they were imposed</p></td><td><p>Value of fines imposed outstanding at the end of the period</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2011 to December 2011</p></td><td><p>£170,962,169</p></td><td><p>£54,843,753</p></td><td><p>£12,470,347</p></td><td><p>£103,648,069</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2012 to December 2012</p></td><td><p>£273,944,704</p></td><td><p>£70,032,092</p></td><td><p>£17,470,412</p></td><td><p>£186,442,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2013 to September 2013 (latest published period)</p></td><td><p>£210,561,372</p></td><td><p>£44,541,677</p></td><td><p>£11,548,807</p></td><td><p>£154,470,888</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The values above only refer to fines and not any other elements of financial impositions such as prosecutor costs, compensation and victim surcharge. Where financial impositions are paid by instalments the fine element is the last part to be paid off after compensation, victim surcharge and prosecutor costs. The values cancelled can relate to legal or administrative cancellations. The value outstanding will include amounts remaining on accounts that are being paid by instalments or were not due for payment by the end of the period specified.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to provide data in this format for any period prior to April 2011 as new performance management information was introduced at that time. It is not possible to identify how much of the amounts imposed in 2011 or 2012 remained outstanding by the end of September 2013 (latest published data period) as data is only available for 18 months after the date imposed – after that it is not possible to extract the amount outstanding for a specific period from the total balance outstanding.</p><p> </p><p>HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) takes the issue of financial penalty enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. HMCTS actively pursues all outstanding impositions until certain they cannot be collected. Collection reached an all time high at the end of 2012/13 and collection has continued to rise in this financial year. At the end of September 2013 total collection (all imposition types excluding confiscation orders) was higher than the same point in the previous year and the outstanding balance had reduced since the start of the financial year. On average over the last 12 month 69% of accounts have been either closed or are compliant with payment terms by 12 months after imposition.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS are actively seeking an external provider for the future delivery of compliance and enforcement services. This will bring the necessary investment and innovation to significantly improve the collection of criminal financial penalties and reduce the cost of the service to the taxpayer.</p><p> </p><p> </p> question first answered 02/04/2014 12:00:00
	creator	1577 label Biography information for Sadiq Khan
	publisher	25259
	tabling member	1577 label Biography information for Sadiq Khan

36515

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	05/02/2014
	date	03/02/2014
	date tabled	03/02/2014
	ddp created	03/02/2014 23:50:47
	ddp modified	07/02/2015 01:38:46
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	identifier	186209
	legislature	25259
	parliament number	55
	question first answered	27/03/2014 12:00:00
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are currently awaiting work capability assessments.
	session	2013/14
	session number	3
	tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
	tabling member printed	Kate Green
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2013/14 186209
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	186209
	version	2
	written parliamentary question type	Ordinary
	answer	answer is ministerial correction answer text <p /> <p /> <p>In May 2010 there were 225,000 cases with Atos Health care and as of 28 February 2014 there were around 766,000 outstanding cases awaiting Work Capability Assessments being completed. This figure does not include cases yet to be referred to Atos or cases referred to Atos but where the claimant has yet to return the claimant questionnaire.</p><p> </p><p>This includes (a) around 371,000 new claimants of Employment and Support Allowance who should be receiving the assessment rate of the benefit; (b) around 293,000 existing recipients of Employment and Support Allowance awaiting a review; and (c) around 102,000 existing Incapacity Benefit recipients awaiting reassessment.</p><p> </p><p>This figure is based on operational management information received from Atos Healthcare and is rounded to the nearest thousand.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> question first answered 27/03/2014 12:00:00
	creator	4120 label Biography information for Kate Green
	publisher	25259
	tabling member	4120 label Biography information for Kate Green

36720

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	10/02/2014
	date	04/02/2014
	date tabled	04/02/2014
	ddp created	04/02/2014 22:01:02
	ddp modified	07/02/2015 01:40:46
	answering body	HM Treasury
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	identifier	186697
	legislature	25259
	parliament number	55
	question first answered	07/05/2014 12:00:00
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of (a) permanent, (b) temporary and (c) contract staff in his Department as paid the living wage or above.
	session	2013/14
	session number	3
	tabling member constituency	Bradford East
	tabling member printed	Mr David Ward
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2013/14 186697
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	186697
	version	2
	written parliamentary question type	NamedDay
	answer	answer is ministerial correction answer text <p>100% of permanent and temporary staff at HM Treasury are paid the Living Wage or above.</p><p> </p><p>HM Treasury fully complies with EU procurement directives and awards contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer. Nevertheless, we have encouraged contractors to commit to paying a living wage and expect all employers to pay at least the national minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p>The Government supports businesses that choose to pay the Living Wage however the Government's main policy on wages is the National Minimum Wage, which has continued to protect the relative wages of the low paid. This is independently set by the Low Pay Commission at a level that maximises their wages without reducing employment prospect. It is for workers and employers to decide the level of wages above the minimum wage based on current circumstances. This includes the Government as a procurer and an employer. Over 95%, around 20 million employees earn above the minimum wage and the majority of public sector workers currently earn above the Living Wage.</p><p> </p> question first answered 07/05/2014 12:00:00
	creator	3923 label Biography information for Mr David Ward
	publisher	25259
	tabling member	3923 label Biography information for Mr David Ward

11895

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	14/05/2013
	date	08/05/2013
	date tabled	08/05/2013
	ddp created	19/11/2013 13:06:23
	ddp modified	06/02/2015 22:05:38
	answering body	Department for Education
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	identifier	153906
	legislature	25259
	parliament number	55
	question first answered	26/02/2014 12:00:00
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to consult on eligibility for free school meals ahead of the introduction of universal credit.
	session	2013/14
	session number	3
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield South East
	tabling member printed	Mr Clive Betts
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2013/14 153906
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	153906
	version	1
	written parliamentary question type	NamedDay
	answer	answer is ministerial correction answer text <p>We are working very closely with other departments, including the Cabinet Office and the Department for Work and Pensions, to simplify free school meals criteria under universal credit, while ensuring that free lunches continue to be available to the families who need them most. These discussions, which include consideration of a phased implementation timetable, are in recognition of the significant number and complexity of passported benefits across Government, most of which have different eligibility criteria.</p><p>We will allow good time to enable schools, local authorities and children's charities to comment on our proposals before we introduce new entitlement criteria for free school meals under universal credit.</p><p> </p> question first answered 26/02/2014 12:00:00
	creator	394 label Biography information for Mr Clive Betts
	publisher	25259
	tabling member	394 label Biography information for Mr Clive Betts

18743

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	07/11/2013
	date	04/11/2013
	date tabled	04/11/2013
	ddp created	19/11/2013 13:40:11
	ddp modified	06/02/2015 23:18:48
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	identifier	174351
	legislature	25259
	parliament number	55
	question first answered	28/04/2014 12:00:00
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding was allocated from Homes and Community Agency to (a) develop new affordable housing and (b) bring empty homes back into use in Harrow in each of the last five years.
	session	2013/14
	session number	3
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Mr Gareth Thomas
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2013/14 174351
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	174351
	version	1
	written parliamentary question type	NamedDay
	answer	answer is ministerial correction answer text <p> </p><p><em>[Holding Reply: Thursday 7 November 2013]</em></p><p>The figures for affordable housing are as follows for the London Borough of Harrow area:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>2008-09</p></td><td><p>£22 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>£45 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>£26 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>£15 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>£13 million</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Since April 2012, allocations from the Affordable Housing Programme have been overseen by the Greater London Authority rather than the Homes and Communities Agency. There have been no specific allocations on empty homes over this period.</p><p>As outlined to the hon. Member in the answer of 7 January 2013, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 121W, I would note that the new Affordable Rent model now allows for more affordable housing to be delivered with lower levels of taxpayer capital subsidy and lever in more private investment.</p><p>As the National Audit Office has observed: “The Department selected the best delivery model open to it for the funds it had available” and “The Department has so far achieved its policy objective to maximise the number of homes delivered within the available grant funding” (National Audit Office, “Financial viability of the social housing sector; introducing the Affordable Homes Programme”, 4 July 2012, HC465, pp.6-7).</p><p>I also note that the Mayor's proposed Housing Strategy states: “£1.8 billion of public funding has been secured by the Mayor which will unlock an estimated additional £3.7 billion of other investment for London to enable 55,000 affordable homes to be delivered between 2011-15” (Mayor of London, “The Revised London Housing Strategy”, December2011, p.35).</p><p>Across England, 170,000 affordable homes have been delivered so far since April 2010, and a total of £19.5 billion of public and private investment is being spent on affordable housing over the current Spending Review period.</p><p> </p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p> question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00
	creator	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas
	publisher	25259
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

19326

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	11/11/2013
	date	06/11/2013
	date tabled	06/11/2013
	ddp created	19/11/2013 13:40:56
	ddp modified	06/02/2015 23:25:48
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	identifier	174860
	legislature	25259
	parliament number	55
	question first answered	30/04/2014 12:00:00
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many overseas trips, and at what total cost, his Department made in each year since 2010; and what the costs of (a) flights, (b) internal travel, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence were of each trip.
	session	2013/14
	session number	3
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham East
	tabling member printed	Chris Leslie
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2013/14 174860
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	174860
	version	1
	written parliamentary question type	NamedDay
	answer	answer is ministerial correction answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice has reduced the overall cost of air travel by almost half since 2009, and our total spend on all travel has fallen by more than 40 per cent in the same period – a saving of more than £9m.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, this year, the Justice Secretary toughened up the rules to ban first and business class travel for Ministers and officials in the department other than in exceptional circumstances where this is required to meet business need.</p><p> </p><p>Overseas travel makes up a small proportion of the Department's overall travel requirement. Flights and travel by Eurostar are booked through our contracted supplier, and whilst the MoJ records data on transactions, it does not hold details of the cost or destination of individual trips centrally. The cost of breaking down all travel in the ways requested would be disproportionate, as managers across the Department would have to create a breakdown of every trip taken, itemised by the different kinds of expenditure.</p> question first answered 30/04/2014 12:00:00
	creator	422 label Biography information for Mr Chris Leslie
	publisher	25259
	tabling member	422 label Biography information for Mr Chris Leslie

26106

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	27/11/2013
	date	22/11/2013
	date tabled	22/11/2013
	ddp created	22/11/2013 17:30:24
	ddp modified	07/02/2015 00:03:45
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	identifier	177489
	legislature	25259
	parliament number	55
	question first answered	28/04/2014 12:00:00
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which contracts his Department holds with (a) Capita, (b) A4E, (c) G4S, (d) Serco, (e) GeoAMEY, (f) Sodexo and (g) Mitie; when each contract started; how much each contract is expect to cost over its lifetime; when each contract is due to end; whether there are any options in the contract for extension; whether any financial penalties have been incurred by each contractor to date; and whether each such contract has a break clause.
	session	2013/14
	session number	3
	tabling member constituency	Tooting
	tabling member printed	Sadiq Khan
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2013/14 177489
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	177489
	version	1
	written parliamentary question type	NamedDay
	answer	answer is ministerial correction answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>I undertook to write to you when the information had been received.</p><p> </p><p>The table contained within Annex A details the live contracts that the Department holds with Capita, G4S, Serco, GeoAmey, Sodexo and MITIE. The table provides you with details on the start and end dates of these contracts, the estimated value of the contract as advertised when the procurement process was initiated, extension options and whether there is a break clause. Where information pertaining to any of these questions is already in the public domain, you will find for ease of reference links to the Hansard extracts.</p><p> </p><p>There are no contracts between the Department and A4E.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The table within Annex A provides details on financial penalties where this information is already available in the public domain. To obtain this information for all the contracts listed would incur disproportionate costs.</p><p> </p><p>The details for the legacy Electronic Monitoring contracts between the Department and G4S and Serco have not been provided to you due to the ongoing criminal investigation into issues relating to these contracts.</p><p> </p><p> </p> question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00
	creator	1577 label Biography information for Sadiq Khan
	publisher	25259
	tabling member	1577 label Biography information for Sadiq Khan