Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label attachment file name title
tabling member	label

Search

228063

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Domestic Abuse: North West
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many dedicated staff there are to deal with domestic violence cases at each Crown Prosecution Service office in the North West.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Mark Hendrick
uin	228086
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2015 answer text <p>Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) North West has two main offices based in Preston and Greater Manchester. In addition there are two smaller offices at Barrow and Cumbria.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>CPS North West has 230 prosecutors of varying grades who have received comprehensive domestic violence training. These staff are split between Preston and Manchester.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>There are 9 Specialist Domestic Violence Co-ordinators in Greater Manchester and 9 Specialist Domestic Violence Prosecutors who prosecute the Specialist Domestic Violence Courts in Cumbria and Lancashire.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Mr Robert Buckland question first answered 25/03/2015 11:10:35 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

228064

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Fire Prevention: Furniture
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills of 25 November 2014, Official Report, column 257WH, what progress he has made on reviewing proposals to amend the Furniture and Furnishing (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988.
tabling member constituency	Pendle
tabling member printed	Andrew Stephenson
uin	228089
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has been carefully analysing the responses to the consultation on the proposed amendments to certain test schedules in the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. The Government response to this consultation was published on 25 March 2015 and can be accessed at <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/furniture-fire-safety-regulations-proposed-amendments" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/consultations/furniture-fire-safety-regulations-proposed-amendments</a>.</p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 26/03/2015 13:11:46 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson

228067

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	New Businesses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department has invested in start-up accelerators and incubators in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Pendle
tabling member printed	Andrew Stephenson
uin	228057
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2015 answer text <p>Growth Deals</p><p>Several accelerator and incubator projects were proposed under Growth Deals and the details of these and the associated costs are attached in the annex. Note that Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) have the flexibility to reprioritise projects based on local needs.</p><p> </p><p>At Budget 2015 the government announced an additional £11m investment in new tech entrepreneur hubs in Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield. They will create thriving local ecosystems by nurturing start-ups, fostering collaboration, and providing mentoring, learning and business support.</p><p> </p><p>University Enterprise Zones</p><p>The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is investing £15m capital in a three year pilot (14/15 – 16/17) to establish four University Enterprise Zones (UEZs) in Bradford, Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham. Led by Universities, the UEZs will provide physical space/facilities for small, innovative start-up businesses. Businesses will also be able to access wraparound business support packages, specialist facilities and expert knowledge, including support from <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-trade-investment" target="_blank">UKTI</a> to promote inward investment onto their sites. The Government investment of £15m will leverage over £47m from private and public sector sources. The UEZs are focused on sectors of relevance to the areas – digital health, robotics, sensors and advance manufacturing.</p><p> </p><p>Projects commenced in the second half of 2014/15 and the majority of the funding will be pulled down in years 15/16 and 16/17. The first centres will open for business in spring 2016.</p><p> </p><p>Profiled expenditure is in the table below.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>£0.848m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>£7.054m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>£7.499m</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Science Park Business Incubator</p><p>The Government is providing £4.8m capital funding in 2015/16 for a new business incubator on Cambridge Science Park (Cambridge Science Park Technology Centre). The incubator will support innovative, early stage companies, primarily in the life sciences sector. This forms part of the Government’s long term economic plan for the East of England to increase the growth rate, building on the world class science and technology base of Cambridge and the surrounding area.</p><p>Full details of current Growth Deals projects can be found in the attached document.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 24/03/2015 11:28:02 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock attachment 1 file name Growth-Deals-Projects-Details-228057.doc title Growth Deals project details
tabling member	4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson

228068

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Adult Education: Lancashire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to address the adult skills gap in Pendle and East Lancashire.
tabling member constituency	Pendle
tabling member printed	Andrew Stephenson
uin	228059
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p>We are reforming the further education (FE) and skills system so that it is increasingly responsive to local needs, particularly focused on Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), and driven by the needs of local growth opportunities. LEPs are responsible for identifying local skills priorities working in partnership with key players across their local economies. Growth Deals enable them to align investment in skills capital to their key growth priorities. For example, Nelson and Colne College has successfully has secured investment of £1.4m for an Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing Centre. Since December 2011 Government funding has also supported capital projects at the FE Colleges of Accrington and Rossendale, Blackburn, and Burnley. Greater devolution has enabled a Lancashire LEP scheme to support 4,000 employees aged 19 and over in small and medium-sized businesses to develop the skills that will give those businesses the confidence to grow. In addition, 610 adults started apprenticeships in Pendle in 2013/14 and 7,780 in Lancashire as a whole. 6,150 adults participated in FE and Leaning in 2013/14 in Pendle and 74,840 in Lancashire.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 25/03/2015 11:51:54 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson

228069

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of the workforce was paid no more than the minimum wage in (a) Huddersfield, (b) Kirklees, (c) Yorkshire, (d) London, (e) England and (f) the UK in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	228092
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2015 answer text <p>The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading East answering member printed Mr Rob Wilson question first answered 25/03/2015 10:48:01 answering member 1556 label Biography information for Mr Rob Wilson attachment 1 file name PQ 228092 ONS 111.pdf title ONS Letter to Member - Minimm Wage
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

228073

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	New Businesses: Pendle
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many new business start-ups by women there were in Pendle constituency in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Pendle
tabling member printed	Andrew Stephenson
uin	228174
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading East answering member printed Mr Rob Wilson grouped question UIN 228217 question first answered 23/03/2015 16:23:28 answering member 1556 label Biography information for Mr Rob Wilson attachment 1 file name PQ 228217 228174 ONS 109 110.pdf title ONS Letter to Member - New Business Start-Ups
tabling member	4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson

228084

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Parking
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's announcement, Government delivers on parking promises to help local shops, published on 6 March 2015, if he will take further steps to ensure that local authority parking schemes are more advantageous to motorists.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	228091
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2015 answer text <p>Higher parking charges and more parking fines were the explicit policy of the Labour Government.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Labour Ministers called for councils to charge for more services, including parking, bemoaning that: ‘Only one in five councils are using charging to the full potential... [such as for] reducing congestion’ (Speech to the Local Government Association, 2 July 2008).</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Planning guidance issued by the Labour Government in 2001 (PPG13) told councils to hike parking charges and adopt aggressive enforcement to discourage drivers.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Labour Ministers asserted: ‘The local government sector already has significant powers to raise revenue through fees and charges in return for the provision of services, and many councils have used this mechanism extensively to support local service delivery (for example through parking charges… The Government supports councils in looking creatively at the scope offered by fees and charges’ (DCLG, <em>Government response to the CLG Select Committee report into the balance of power: central and local government</em>, 18 September 2009).</li></ul><p> </p><p>Yet unreasonable parking charges and fines push up hard-working people’s cost of living. If parking is too expensive or difficult, shoppers will simply drive to out of town supermarkets or just shop on-line, undermining the vitality of town centres and leading to ‘ghost town’ high streets. This Government has rejected the Labour policy of encouraging higher parking charges and aggressive parking enforcement, and has been standing up for hard-working people and local shops.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2010, we have:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Scrapped Labour’s Whitehall policy that pressured councils to hike car parking charges as a ‘demand management measure’ to discourage car use.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Removed Whitehall restrictions which restricted the provision of off-street parking spaces, and issued new national planning policy to discourage unnecessary restrictions on parking spaces being provided in new developments.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Abolished Labour’s Whitehall policy which inhibited parking charge competition between council areas, and instead introduced a new policy that says parking charges should not undermine the vitality of town centres, and stated that parking enforcement should be proportionate;</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Issued new planning practice guidance on removing street clutter and encouraging the provision of shopper-friendly parking space provision.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Introduced the local retention of business rates, which means that councils benefit from business and retail growth in town centres, rather than just hiking parking charges.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Increased parking transparency through the local government Transparency Code so councils are required to publish how income from parking charges is being used.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Stopped the industrial use of CCTV for parking enforcement: this will commence in April following the Deregulation Bill receiving Royal Assent.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Introduced a mandatory 10 minute “grace period” at the end of on-street and off-street, free and paid municipal parking.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Introduced a new right to allow local residents and local firms to demand a review of parking in their area, including charges and the use of yellow lines.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Changed guidance so drivers parking at an out-of-order meter are not fined if there are no alternative ways to pay.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Reformed statutory parking guidance so it is less heavy handed with drivers, prevents over-aggressive action by bailiffs, positively supports local shops and clearly reinforces the prohibition against parking being used to generate profit.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Updated guidance so the public know when they can be awarded costs at tribunals; strengthened the power of adjudicators to overturn parking fines; frozen parking fines in this Parliament; the Government will also be trialling a 25% discount for motorists who lose an appeal against a parking ticket at tribunal on the full price of their parking ticket</li></ul><p> </p><p>My Department has now taken on the policy responsibility for off-street parking, both municipal and on private land. We will consult shortly on areas where we can intervene to tackle unfair practices. We will also address the issue of local authorities not offering any cash payment facilities in municipal parking.<br><br></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 25/03/2015 17:38:21 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

228085

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Better Care Fund
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that the Better Care Fund helps councils provide services faster and with improved value for money.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	228088
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>The Better Care Fund aims to keep people well and independent at home, delivering better care and value for money. Through locally led Better Care plans, local areas will spend over £2 billion on protecting social care, supporting over 2,500 more people to live independently rather than move to a care home.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 23/03/2015 14:38:02 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

228086

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Small Businesses: Non-domestic Rates
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the local economic benefits arising from the small business rate relief scheme.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	228090
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>We have doubled the level of small business rate relief since October 2010. For 2015-16, this means an estimated 400,000 properties are paying no rates at all, while a further 200,000 properties are benefitting from tapered relief.</p><p> </p><p>Small businesses will also benefit from other measures in our £1.4 billion package of support for 2015-16 bills, including the 2% cap on the increase of the small business rates multiplier for two years and the £1,500 discount for shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000. They will also benefit from wider support for small businesses.</p><p> </p><p>Business rates are a proportionately higher fixed cost for small businesses as compared to large. The doubling of Small Business Rate Relief therefore provides targeted support to reduce small businesses’ tax burden.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 23/03/2015 14:36:52 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

228089

registered interest
date	18/03/2015
answering body	Department for Culture Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Ofcom
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many Ofcom decisions were subject to (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful on the merits appeals in each year for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	228051
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2015 answer text <p>Government does not hold information relating to how many Ofcom decisions were subject to (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful on the merit appeals. Information relating to appeals of regulatory decisions can be sought directly from Ofcom, who are independent from Government.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed Mr Edward Vaizey question first answered 25/03/2015 08:32:19 answering member 1580 label Biography information for Lord Vaizey of Didcot
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane