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  • Lord Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lucas on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of recent reports about VAT fraud by online traders operating from abroad, what is their estimate of the impact of such tax evasion on (1) the public purse, and (2) UK businesses.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Any UK VAT losses arising from online traders operating from abroad are already included within the published UK Tax Gap.

    The estimate of the VAT Gap published in “Measuring Tax Gaps 2015 edition” on 22 October 2015 is £13.1 billion. Overall, the UK Tax Gap was 6.4 per cent in 2013-14,down from 6.6 per cent in 2012-13. As part of that, the VAT Gap is calculated as 11.1 per cent in 2013-14, a reduction from 11.9 per cent in 2012-13.

  • Lord Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lucas on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of recent reports about VAT fraud by online traders operating from abroad, what action they are taking to reduce the extent of such tax evasion, and whether that action will be completed before Christmas in order to protect UK businesses.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs is actively targeting operational and intelligence activity, as well as a range of other options, to tackle this issue.

  • Baroness Janke – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Janke – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Janke on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process they followed in making appointments to the Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Secretary of State is responsible for appointing members to the local government pension scheme’s advisory board. No more than 12 members in total may be appointed, divided equally between members representing scheme members and scheme employers in England and Wales.

    The list of appointments made by the Secretary of State is shown below. The appointments were made on the basis of nominations submitted by the Local Government Association on behalf of local authority employers and the three major local government trade unions. The 12 appointments shown below replaced the members of a shadow scheme advisory board established in July 2013.

    Local authority employer representatives

    Councillor Roger Phillips (Herefordshire County Council representing non-local authority employers)

    Emelda Nicholroy (Universities and Colleges Employers Association representing education employers).

    Councillor Michael Adams (London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham representing London councils).

    Councillor Keiran Quinn (Greater Manchester Pension Fund representing Metropolitan authorities)

    Councillor Denise Le Gal (Surrey County Council representing English local authorities)

    Councillor Mary Barnett (Torfaen Pension Fund representing Welsh local authorities)

    Scheme member representatives

    Jon Richards – UNISON

    Chris Tansley – UNISON

    Brian Strutton – GMB

    Gary Warwick – GMB

    Fiona Farmer – UNITE

    Dick Banks – UNITE

  • Lord Avebury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Avebury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Avebury on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the 2014 report of the UK Stem Cell Strategy Oversight Committee on the future of unrelated donor stem cell transplantation in the United Kingdom.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government continues to take forward work to deliver the recommendations in the 2014 report. We remain committed to improving stem cell transplantation services and doing all we can to help those in need of a transplant to find a suitable donor.

    Since 2011, the Department has provided its delivery partners, NHS Blood and Transplant and the Anthony Nolan, a total of £16 million in additional, new funding to improve stem cell transplantation services in the United Kingdom. A further £3 million investment was announced in March 2015.

    This funding has led to a tangible improvement in the availability of stem cells in the UK and the achievements include:

    – More UK patients received a stem cell transplant in 2014 than ever before;

    – Over 60% of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) patients are now able to find a well matched donor compared to only 40% in 2010;

    – A single unified bone marrow donor registry has been created streamlining the provision of stem cells and reducing the time to provide cells from adult donors;

    – The proportion of patients receiving cord blood from UK donors has significantly increased; and

    – An increase in UK patients receiving a transplant from 802 in 2010/11 to 1,060 in 1013/14. The increased use of UK-sourced stem cells has meant that more donors than ever are available to donate leading to a significant cost saving by reducing the need to import stem cells.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to the Fourth Report from the Work and Pensions Committee, on Support for housing costs in the reformed welfare system, Session 2013-14, HC 720, published on 2 April 2014.

    Justin Tomlinson

    I refer my Hon Member to the answer I gave on 15 October 2015 to Question UIN 11314.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what work his Department has undertaken with the devolved administrations on communicating to the public changes to the new state pension.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Northern Ireland is the only devolved administration for pensions. We have worked closely with officials from the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency and have shared our new State Pension advertising materials for customised use in Northern Ireland.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been spent on publicising the changes to the basic state pension to date.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The government has spent £661,493 in 2014/2015 to raise public awareness ahead of the introduction of the new State Pension on April 6, 2016. Total costs for 2015/2016 have not been finalised.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people have been helped back to work by the Access to Work scheme in each of the last five years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The table below lists annual totals for people who have been helped by Access to Work in each of the last five years.

    Customer Type

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    Existing customer

    22,480

    20,760

    20,670

    22,850

    24,730

    New customer helped

    13,330

    10,010

    10,830

    12,720

    12,080

    Total

    35,810

    30,780

    31,500

    35,560

    36,820

    Access to Work is not an exclusively back-to-work scheme and the department’s data do not distinguish between those helped into new employment opportunities and those helped to retain existing work. The data quoted here are for total numbers helped by Access to Work.
    These figures are taken from the latest statistics for Access to Work, which show figures for people helped by the scheme going back to 2007 and are published quarterly here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468889/access-to-work-statistics-apr-jun-2015.pdf

    “

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many job advisers he plans to locate in food banks.

    Priti Patel

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answers I gave on 3 November 2015 to Question 14114 and 14139

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has held with food bank providers on his Department’s plans to locate job advisers in food banks.

    Priti Patel

    Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches already undertake outreach work every day in local communities. Work Coaches recently began offering back-to-back support in the Lalley Centre in Manchester. Early feedback has been positive. We will reflect on this, and consider if there is potential for expansion