Category: Speeches

Sarah Champion – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) sexual harm prevention orders and (b) sexual risk orders have been made by courts in England to protect children aged 16 and 17.

Karen Bradley

The Home Office does not collate central figures on the number of Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and Sexual Risk Orders issued in England. Figures collated by the police for management purposes, and provided to the Home Office, on the overall number of orders show that in the period between 8 March and 29 September, 2,425 full and 40 interim Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and 32 full and 13 interim Sexual Risk Orders were issued in England and Wales. This data is not broken down by age.

01/01/2023

Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in her Department and non-departmental public bodies receive (a) home to work travel allowance, (b) a car allowance and (c) subsidised health insurance.

George Eustice

The following table sets out the number of staff in receipt of each type of allowance in 2014/15.

	Home to Work Travel	Car
Core Department	7	0
Animal and Plant Health Agency	185	0
Environment Agency	829	10
Rural Payments Agency	79	14
Total	1,100	24

Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Consumer Council for Water, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Marine Management Organisation, Natural England and Veterinary Medicines Directorate have no staff in receipt of these allowances.

No staff were in receipt of subsidised health insurance.

The Home to Work Travel Allowance mainly relates to staff receiving the Excess Cost of Travel Allowance (ECTA). This is paid as a result of ongoing estates rationalisation where the home to work commute for a staff member has increased because of an office closure or move. Where there is a requirement for a limited number of RPA managers to operate out of more than one location, RPA also pay home to work travel costs to ensure the individual is not disadvantaged as a result of business needs. The EA figure includes staff in receipt of Overtime Attendance Allowance which is a fixed amount that is paid when they are required to respond to an unplanned incident.

01/01/2023

David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the effect on cost and on bed capacity of delayed hospital discharge at the Lane Fox Respiratory Unit at St Thomas’ Hospital, London; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

The information is not collected centrally and no estimate has been made.

01/01/2023

Baroness Wilcox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Wilcox on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much someone earning (1) £15,000, and (2) £150,000, a year would have paid in direct taxation, including income tax and national insurance, in (a) 2009–10 and (b) 2015–16.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Someone earning £15,000 would have had a total tax liability from Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions of £2,726 in 2009-10 and £1,713 in 2015-16.

Someone earning £150,000 would have had a total tax liability from Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions of £55,189 in 2009-10 and £59,914 in 2015-16.

This is summarised in the following tables, which break down the liability by Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs):

1) £15,000	2009-10	2015-16	difference
Income Tax	£1,705	£880	-£825
Employee NICs	£1,021	£833	-£189
Total tax	£2,726	£1,713	-£1,014
Net income	£12,274	£13,287	£1,014
2) £150,000	2009-10	2015-16	difference
Income Tax	£49,930	£53,643	£3,713
Employee NICs	£5,259	£6,271	£1,012
Total tax	£55,189	£59,914	£4,725
Net income	£94,811	£90,086	-£4,725

This assumes that the individual was born after 5 April 1948 (and therefore not receiving the Age-related Personal Allowance), is paying employee NICs (not contracted out), and has a gross income from pay only. The Income tax calculations assume no other allowances or deductions. The NICs is calculated on an annual basis which assumes a smooth distribution of the income across the year.

01/01/2023

Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to engage with international partners to tackle the persecution of secularists or of people with no faith in Bangladesh.

Mr Hugo Swire

As I said to the House on 24 May, there is more we can do to help the Government of Bangladesh to tackle the challenges they face. I raised my concerns about the situation there most recently with the Bangladesh High Commissioner on 24 May.

Our High Commission in Dhaka regularly meets international partners to discuss the treatment of secular activists and minority groups in Bangladesh. Most recently, on 22 May, our High Commissioner met Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali, with other EU Ambassadors, to discuss signs that intolerance across Bangladesh is increasing

In September 2015, officials from the British High Commission in Dhaka met Heiner Bielefeldt, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, during his visit to Bangladesh. We urge the Government of Bangladesh to implement the recommendations in his report, which includes a call for the government to “protect the vibrant civil society and pluralistic society in Bangladesh”.

01/01/2023
Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-07-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in reducing GP waiting times.

Alistair Burt

There is no national standard for waiting to see a general practitioner (GP) and data on waiting times is not collected centrally. To implement the Government’s commitment to transform GP access however, £175 million has been invested in the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. Across the two waves of the Access Fund, there are 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices and 18 million patients – a third of the population – have benefited from improved access and transformational change at local level. This includes more appointments being made available, especially at times more convenient for patients, such as weekday evenings and weekends. It also includes different approaches like telephone consultations and better use of the wider primary care workforce (such as Advanced Nurse Practitioners, pharmacists, the voluntary sector, physiotherapists and paramedics) to deliver improved access to patients. These approaches have helped release local GP capacity and more appropriately matched the needs of patients with the most appropriate professional to care for them. In addition to Access Fund sites, other clinical commissioning groups may offer local initiatives for improving access to GPs.

01/01/2023
Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of ships sailing under flags of convenience, and of the impact of that practice on the British maritime industry.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Department for Transport analysis of IHS Global data on ship characteristics as at 31 Dec 2015 shows 19,661 vessels registered on open flag registers.

An analysis of the impact of these registers on the UK maritime industry has not been conducted. However, the Maritime Growth Study (2015) did note that while the volume of tonnage on open registers is significant the amount managed or owned by companies located in these countries is far less substantial.

The UK is a leading global maritime centre. Government is committed to supporting the UK maritime sector and ensuring growth in UK Ship Register through a greater commercial focus while retaining its reputation for quality.

01/01/2023
Margaret Hodge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the time taken for the Turks and Caicos Islands to respond to his Department’s consultation on a public register of beneficial ownership.

James Duddridge

I refer the Right Honourable Lady to the answer given by my Hon Friend the member for Hertfordshire South West (David Gauke), the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to questions 10437, 10438 and 10448, which sets out the criteria we expect the Overseas Territories to meet in relation to their central register of company beneficial ownership, or similarly effective system.

We are in discussions with the Turks and Caicos Islands authorities on this and are offering technical assistance as they develop their proposals.

01/01/2023
Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of former members of the armed forces who participated in the the Careers Transition Partnership found sustainable employment within six months of leaving the armed forces in each year since 2010.

Mark Lancaster

The latest information held on personnel that have participated in the Careers Transition Partnership (CTP) is as at 31 March 2014. Between 2010-11 and 2013-14 the following percentage of personnel who participated in the CTP found sustainable employment within six months of leaving the Armed Forces:

2010-11 – 85%

2011-12 – 85%

2012-13 – 83%

2013-14 – 84%

Figures presented for 2013-14 are provisional as personnel can receive CTP resettlement services up to two years before and after leaving the UK Armed Forces. Figures are revised annually in the Official Statistic publication with figures being fixed after two years.

01/01/2023
Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people she expects to leave the UK in April 2016 because the term of their Tier 2 visa will expire.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office has not made an estimate of this particular figure. Applicants may apply for settlement if they meet the qualifying criteria, or to extend their stay in Tier 2 up to a maximum of six years, or to switch into another immigration route for which they are eligible.

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. PhD level roles and those in shortage will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold.

The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. This is available on the gov.uk website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf.

01/01/2023