Category: Speeches

Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2015-12-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what total (a) gross and (b) net revenue has been collected by HM Revenue and Customs from companies in the tonnage tax scheme since 2000-01.

Mr David Gauke

The table below shows estimated tax liabilities due to tonnage tax for each year from 2000-01 to 2013-14 (the latest year for which data are currently available):

Tax	Tax Liabilities
Year	£m Rounded
2000-01	1.4
2001-02	2.3
2002-03	2.9
2003-04	3.1
2004-05	3.4
2005-06	3.9
2006-07	4.3
2007-08	4.3
2008-09	4.4
2009-10	4.6
2010-11	4.6
2011-12	4.4
2012-13	4.2
2013-14	3.6

Notes: 1. The latest data for 2013/14 are provisional and may be subject to change.

01/01/2023

Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has an official statement of the UK’s relationship with Bahrain and the Bahraini government.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We have a long and shared history with Bahrain. Our relationship with Bahrain is important for our respective security and prosperity. We will continue to work with Bahrain to support their reform agenda. Bahrain has made progress but we are clear more needs to be done.

01/01/2023
Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government where the criteria for standards in initial teacher training can be found, and whether there are any specific legislative instruments enforcing those criteria.

Lord Nash

The Teachers’ Standards were published in 2011 and apply to all teachers. They define the minimum level of practice expected of teachers. The document can be found on the GOV.UK website, and has been attached to this answer.

The standards refer to:
- Schedule 2 of The Education (School Teachers’ Qualifications) (England) Regulations 2003
- The Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012
As such, the Teachers’ Standards apply to:
- Trainees working towards Qualified Teacher Status;
- All teachers completing their statutory induction period (newly qualified teachers [NQTs]); and
- Teachers in maintained schools, including maintained special schools, who are covered by the 2012 appraisal regulations.
The National College for Teaching and Leadership will use Part Two of the Teachers’ Standards, which relates to personal and professional conduct, when assessing cases of serious misconduct, regardless of the education sector in which the teacher works.
01/01/2023

Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 10 February (HL5652), what (1) proportion, and (2) volume, of excavated spoil from each of the HS2 Phase 1 construction sites will be transported from them by (a) rail, (b) road, and (c) river.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Excavated material arising from the construction of Phase One of HS2 will be transported along the construction corridor (site haul) where it is reasonably practicable to do so. Where that is not possible, or for movement along longer distances, the material will be transported by public highway, along designated routes. Where reasonably practicable, rail has been considered for the transportation of large quantities of excavated material over long distances. There are currently no plans to move any of the excavated material by river.

The approximate quantities and relative proportion of each of these transportation methods, allocated to broad sections of the proposed route is set out in the table below. These figures reflect the assumptions reported in the Environmental Statement deposited alongside the Phase One Bill and, as such, are a plausible worst case in terms of both total volume of excavated material and proportion transport by highway and rail. The project has made a commitment to maximise the amount of excavated material transported by rail and are working to increase the proportion transport by rail and decrease the proportion transported by highway wherever reasonably practicable.

(All figures are in million tons and movements may include multiple handling)

	Site Haul	Public Highway Haul	Rail Haul
Central London & Metropolitan area	16.9 (56%)	4 (13%)	9.46 (31%)
Buckinghamshire Northants & Warwickshire Country areas	72.4 (80%)	17.9 (20%)	– (0%)
West Midlands Metropolitan area	29.9 (61%)	18.9 (39%)	– (0%)
Total Phase One Routewide	119.2 (70%)	40.8 (24%)	9.46 (6%)

01/01/2023

Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the levels of toxic heavy metals, cadmium and mercury, in the sea on the brains and organs of pilot whales in 2012.

George Eustice

Scientists working for Defra have not made any assessment of the levels of cadmium and mercury in the brains and organs of pilot whales in 2012.

However, I am aware that the University of Aberdeen carried out assessments of this kind on pilot whales stranded on Scottish beaches in the same year.

01/01/2023
Caroline Ansell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has formally accepted the recommendations made by the Airports Commission in its report published in July 2015 on night flights and the ruling out of a fourth runway at Heathrow Airport; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill

A number of important decisions on airport capacity were taken by the Government in December, including to accept the case for expansion in the South-East. However, we must take the time to get the decision right on a preferred scheme. The Government is further considering the environmental impacts and the best possible measures to mitigate the impacts of expansion. We anticipate this work will conclude by summer 2016.

01/01/2023
Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36231, when he expects the liver disease framework to be published.

Jane Ellison

Public Health England (PHE) is producing a liver disease framework which will outline PHE’s wide range of work contributing to the prevention of liver disease and the improved wellbeing of patients with liver disease. The PHE Liver Disease Framework is expected to be published in autumn 2016.

01/01/2023
Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent review her Department has made of the regulatory framework for the provision of subtitles for on-demand services.

Matt Hancock

In 2015 the then regulator for video on demand services, the Authority for Television on Demand (ATVOD), published its Provision of Video on Demand Access Services Report. The Department analysed the findings of this report, and met with platform operators, content providers and broadcasters to review the provision of such services. The Department has asked broadcasters, content providers and platform operators for a progress update in Spring 2017.

Ofcom is the regulator with responsibility for on-demand programme services (ODPS). Ofcom are presently consulting on how to improve access services and ensure that providers see broadcast and ODPS accessibility as equally important.

01/01/2023
Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on patient safety of the project on how emergency calls were dealt with run by South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust between December 2014 and February 2015.

Jane Ellison

We are advised that the health sector regulator Monitor is taking action with South East Coast Ambulance Service Foundation Trust regarding concerns about a project which was run between December 2014 and February 2015 in the south of England. The regulator is working with the Trust now to identify the negative impact this project could have had on patients.

01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many investigations were carried out by HM Revenue and Customs National Minimum Wage compliance officers in each of the last six years.

Mr David Gauke

The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the confidential Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) review all complaints that are referred to them. However, some complaints may not lead to the commencement of an investigation. This might be due to incomplete information being provided, or the worker subsequently wishing to withdraw their complaint. Similarly, multiple complaints about the same employer would only be recorded under one investigation.

In 2014/15, 2489 worker complaints and 691 pieces of third party information were referred to HMRC. However, I reiterate that not all complaints will lead to an investigation. In previous years, HMRC did not record statistics by complaints received, but by investigations completed. In 2014/15, HMRC completed 2204 investigations. I refer the honourable member to the answer provided to her on 6 May 2014 at Hansard Column 110W for information on prior years.

Staff across HMRC contribute to enforcing NMW, including people who work in legal advice, debt management, technical support and criminal investigation amongst others, but HMRC does not record the specific numbers of those staff involved beyond this. The budget allocated to HMRC by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is provided as an overall amount. I therefore refer the honourable member to the answers provided to her at UIN 16853 for budget details & UIN 16938 for information on staffing.

01/01/2023