Category: Speeches

  • Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information HM Revenue and Customs holds on the number of people engaged in employment through an umbrella company in each year since 2008.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not routinely record the information requested, but has published estimates on an ad hoc basis since 2008.

    In 2008 HMRC published figures for the number of umbrella workers in a consultation document “Tax Relief for travel expenses: temporary workers and overarching employment contracts.” HMRC estimated that around 120 umbrella companies operating in the UK were using overarching contracts and employed around 100,000 temporary workers at any one time.

    Evidence suggests that for 2013-14 the 50 largest umbrella companies alone employed 150,000 individuals over the course of a year. In 2015 an estimated 430,000 individuals were employed by umbrella companies and employment agencies on overarching contracts over the course of a year. The number at any one time will be less than this.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply to letters from the GMB trades union National Secretary, Mick Rix, on the outsourcing of jobs at British Airways and use of tier 2 visas; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office has received letters from Mr Rix and intends to respond in due course. It is a decision for businesses whether to outsource certain functions. We have, however, responded to concerns that use of the Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer (ICT)) route may undercut or displace resident workers. On 24 March we announced that we will simplify and streamline the route in line with our international trade commitments to admit senior managers and specialists. From April 2017, all transferees (other than limited numbers of graduate trainees) will be required to qualify under a single visa category with a minimum salary of £41,500.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with his counterpart at the (a) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and (b) Iranian government to assist the government of Iran in helping to halt the decline in the number of Asiatic cheetahs.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of the plight of Asiatic cheetahs in Iran and we welcome conservation efforts by Iran and the UN. My officials have held preliminary discussions with the Iranian Embassy in London on the issue.

  • Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-10-30.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to shorten waiting times for customers.

    Mr David Gauke

    In the summer, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recruited 3,000 additional staff into customer facing teams. The recruitment process included bringing people in on contracts to work in the evenings and at weekends, thus building capacity to handle calls outside of normal working hours.

    HMRC have also implemented their biggest ever training programme, ensuring that customer support teams can move across a wide range of work according to customer demand.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost per unit of each Boeing P8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    We are unable to release this information publicly while commercial negotiations are continuing.

  • Stella Creasy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stella Creasy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will publish all guidance it has issued to schools and colleges for the implementation of PREVENT strategy activities for all age groups.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Home Office published guidance on the Prevent statutory duty for specified authorities, including schools, in March 2015. In September 2015, the Home Office published Prevent duty guidance specifically for colleges and universities. The Department for Education issued advice for schools and childcare providers relating to the Prevent duty, which was published in July 2015. All of this guidance and advice is publicly available at the following website links:

    • Prevent duty guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance

    • Department for Education advice for schools and childcare providers on the Prevent duty: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/439598/prevent-duty-departmental-advice-v6.pdf

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many road traffic accidents in which a dog was injured were reported to the police in each of the last three years.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport collates information on animals identified as carriageway hazards in reported personal injury road accidents. However, information on the kind of animal involved in accidents is not collected.

    The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving animals1 in the carriageway, in Great Britain, 2012 – 20142, is shown in the following table.

    Year

    Accidents

    2012

    804

    2013

    734

    2014

    692

    1. Excludes ridden horses
    2. Data for 2015 is published summer 2016.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effects on the tax revenue of developing countries of tax treaties with the UK.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    HMRC actively engages with developing countries and has recently agreed treaties with Senegal and Zambia. Tax treaties encourage the appropriate tax treatment of cross-border economic activity, promote international trade and investment and ultimately lead to sustainable tax revenues.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will consider developing an atrocity prevention lens similar to the framework used by the UN Office for the Prevention of Genocide to assist in decision-making on bilateral aid and other aid assistance programmes.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK continues to be strongly committed to early and effective international action to prevent mass atrocities, which are of grave concern to the Government. The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (SDSR) underlined the importance the Government attaches to upholding international humanitarian law and to the prevention of mass atrocities through effective implementation of the UN agreed principle of the Responsibility to Protect.

    The Government’s overseas network, strong international partnerships, and early warning mechanisms give the UK significant insight into emerging risks. HMG also produces an internal risk report on countries at risk of instability, which highlights regions in which there are increasing risks of instability, conflict and mass atrocities. The report draws on a wide range of sources and includes indicators that highlight the risk of mass atrocities occurring. The data assessment reflects best practice from NGOs and partner governments’ and is kept under regular review. Policy-makers also take into account atrocity risk analysis from partner governments, the UN and NGOs.

    As set out in the SDSR and the UK Aid Strategy, the response to conflict, atrocity and other risks uses diplomatic, development, defence and law enforcement capabilities in an integrated manner. As such, addressing and preventing conflict, instability and state failure is a key priority running through UK aid policies and programmes. This includes the prevention of identity-based mass violence, alongside other forms of violence and instability.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of officials of her Department resigned in each of the last six years.

    George Eustice

    The table below shows the number of resignations and the proportion of staff who had resigned in the last six years.

    Year

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    Number of staff resigned

    59

    44

    37

    52

    61

    53

    % of staff resigned

    2.3%

    1.9%

    1.7%

    2.4%

    2.8%

    2.6%