Category: Speeches

  • Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gill Furniss on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to keep records of the (a) number of people who have their tax credits erroneously suspended by Concentrix, (b) number of people who subsequently have those tax credits reinstated and (c) length of time it takes HMRC to subsequently process those payments.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collects a wide range of data in order to process a claim. However, this data is not currently held in a form that is accessible for bulk requests without incurring disproportionate costs. For that reason, HMRC is currently focused on resolving outstanding Concentrix cases, but will be preparing analysis which will be made available in due course.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent from the public purse on the payment of social security benefits to non-UK citizens in each European Economic Area country for each year from 1997-98 to 2014-15.

    Priti Patel

    The full information requested is not held centrally.

    The Department for Work and Pensions checks the nationality and immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud. While this information is used, it is not recorded as part of the benefit payment administrative systems.

    Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables are published on Gov.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/474453/expenditure-by-country-and-region-2014-15.xlsx

    Please note that these figures include a breakdown for UK regions and a combined figure for expenditure abroad or where the region is unknown. Expenditure is not broken down by nationality.

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  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many nationals of other countries living in the UK have been convicted of a crime since 30 September 2014; and how many such people came from each country.

    Andrew Selous

    The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database does not hold the nationality of offenders convicted or sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. Obtaining this information would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Truscott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Truscott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Truscott on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of recent flooding, what plans they have to re-allocate the proposed funding for HS2 to the funding of strengthened flood defences.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    There are no plans to re-allocate HS2 funding to flood defences. The HS2 budget is to deliver HS2.

    The Government is separately investing £2.3bn in flood defences through the six-year capital programme, which will better protect 300,000 homes and reduce overall flood risk in England by 5% by 2021.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect the rural services delivery grant.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Parliament approved the local government finance settlement for 2016-17 on 10 February. Recognising the particular costs of providing services in sparse rural areas, Rural Services Delivery Grant will increase by more than fivefold in 2016-17, to £80.5 million.

  • Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have been (1) charged with, and (2) convicted of, people smuggling offences in the UK in each of the past 10 years.

    Lord Bates

    Prior to March 2014, this information was not recorded centrally. The number of individuals charged and convicted for people smuggling for 2014/15 and 2016/15 (year to date YTD) is as follows:

    2014/15 (Apr to Mar) Charged – 207 Convicted – 111

    2015/16 (Apr – YTD) Charged – 210 Convicted – 128

    These figures recorded as the following primary offences: Human Smuggling – via Aeroplane, Human Smuggling – via Lorry, Human Smuggling – via Van/Car, Human Smuggling – via Vessel (boat/ferry etc) and Human Smuggling – Other.

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether tax avoidance and the role of tax havens is expected to be discussed in plenary at the International Anti-Corruption Summit in London.

    Matthew Hancock

    This Government will continue to lead the international agenda to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. The Summit will address a range of measures to tackle corruption, including promoting transparency. Further information about the London Anti-Corruption Summit can be found on the summit web pages of the GOV.UK website.

    “

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 2.30 of her Department’s white paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, published in March 2016, what evidence her Department is taking into account to decide which (a) metrics and (b) other factors will be used to decide which providers are awarded multi-year allocations of initial teacher training places.

    Nick Gibb

    As set out in our recent White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, we plan to introduce ‘Centres of Excellence’ in Initial Teacher Training which will receive multi-year allocations. We are currently engaging the sector and working to establish the criteria for determining which providers will be designated as a ‘Centre of Excellence’. At this stage, no firm decisions have been taken.

  • Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to ensure STEM-qualified teachers are exempt from the £35,000 income threshold for settlement for non-EU workers.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government announced in 2012 that from 6 April 2016, Tier 2 visa holders who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000. Secondary education teachers from non-EU countries in the subjects of mathematics, chemistry and physics are on the shortage occupation list and thus are exempt from the £35,000 threshold.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to support the library service in England.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    I am responding as Minister with responsibility for Libraries policy.

    The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 requires the Secretary of State to superintend, and promote the improvement of, the public library service provided by local authorities in England, and to secure the proper discharge by local authorities of the functions in relation to libraries as conferred on them as library authorities.

    The Government invested £2.6m in 2015/16 to install and upgrade WiFi in over 1,000 libraries in England. This means that WiFi is now available in over 99% of public libraries in England.

    In addition, the Government and the Local Government Association established the Libraries Taskforce in 2015. The Taskforce has already published Toolkits and case studies to assist local authorities and consulted on “Ambition”, a draft vision for public libraries. This will provide a range of practical and innovative options local authorities can deploy to maintain and transform our library services. I expect to see local authorities working with Government and their local communities to consider these options, and to ensure library services are sustainable for the long term.