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  • Graham Allen – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Graham Allen – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of (a) 18 and (b) 19 year-olds in Northern Ireland were registered to vote on 30 June 2014; what the average number was of 18 and 19 year-olds in Northern Ireland so registered as a proportion of the mid-year population estimate made by the Office for National Statistics for 2014; and how that figure differs from (i) Electoral Commission and (ii) Cabinet Office estimates of the number of registered 18 and 19 year-olds in (A) Northern Ireland and (B) Great Britain in 2014.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    On 30 June 2014, the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland had (a) 19,361 18 year olds and (b) 20,746 19 year olds registered to vote. Drawing on the mid-year population estimate for 2014 published by the Office for National Statistics, this would represent 82.8% of 18-19 year olds in Northern Ireland.

    The Electoral Commission last assessed the completeness of the Northern Ireland electoral register in 2012 when survey sampling estimated that 51% of 18-19 year olds were registered to vote. An Electoral Commission report on the quality of the 2014 electoral registers in Great Britain assessed that 76% of 18-19 year olds were registered to vote.

    The Cabinet Office has not made a separate assessment of the number of 18 and 19 year olds registered in either Great Britain or Northern Ireland in this period.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that personal information housed on the Government Gateway system is better protected.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government takes cyber security very seriously.We have invested more than £860 million in cyber-security and we will continue to do everything in our power to protect organisations and individuals from attacks.Government Gateway has an on-going security programme, and more broadlyCyber security is a Tier 1 risk in the National Strategic Risk Assessment, alongside international terrorism. We urge all online service users to keep their log-in details safe, be suspicious of unsolicited emails and keep their anti-virus software up to date.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will contact those people whose personal details have been stolen as a result of the cyber security breach of the Government Gateway system.

    Matthew Hancock

    There are no indications of a cyber security breach of the Government Gateway.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to the Senior Civil Service across all Government departments in each of the last three years.

    Matthew Hancock

    This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will bring forward proposals to add the (a) Surveillance Camera Commissioner and (b) Office of the Biometrics Commissioner to Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) already extends to over 100,000 public authorities. We constantly keep the list of bodies covered by the FOIA under review.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 62 of the Government’s consultation document, Tackling Exploitation in the Labour Market, published in October 2015, what limitations currently exist on data sharing between labour market enforcement bodies.

    Nick Boles

    While information is already shared between labour market enforcement bodies, the existing information sharing gateways in numerous Acts of Parliament are limited as regards with whom information can be shared and for what purpose. Legislative changes may be required to allow greater information sharing between enforcement bodies. For example we want to ensure that HMRC National Minimum Wage enforcement officers are able to share information effectively with the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities.

    We are also engaging with the relevant enforcement bodies to identify possible non-legislative barriers to information sharing.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will hold discussions with motor trade associations on steps to ban the sale of devices that are used to illegally reduce car mileages on vehicles for resale.

    Nick Boles

    The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has no plans to hold such a meeting.

    It is illegal to reduce the mileage on a car and advertise or sell it on that basis. This is the case regardless of the availability of devices that can reduce vehicle mileage. For advice on alleged offences of misleading advertising or fraud, consumers should approach Action Fraud or Citizens Advice, who may refer cases to Trading Standards.

  • Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy to eliminate UK Export Finance investments in coal plants and coal mining overseas.

    Anna Soubry

    There are no plans to ban support for exports of goods and services to coal plants and coal mining overseas. However, applications to UK Export Finance (UKEF) which fall within the ambit of the OECD Common Approaches for Officially Supported Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence will require that coal projects meet international, environmental, social, and human rights standards to qualify for support.

    UKEF is participating in discussions in the OECD with the aim of achieving a multilateral agreement on limiting the provision of export credits for coal-fired power projects and an agreement is expected to be reached later in November.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment has been made of the effect of incorporating the function of the Pay and Work Rights Helpline into ACAS on outcomes for workers.

    Nick Boles

    From 1 April 2015, the ACAS Helpline is, in addition to its usual services, answering queries previously handled by the Pay and Work rights Helpline. This provides a one stop shop for those seeking advice and guidance on employment rights. Where appropriate, ACAS passes on callers through a real time transfer of the call to the relevant enforcement body for them to take any further follow up action, including any specific complaints.

    No formal assessment has been made at this time of the outcomes for workers. ACAS continues to work closely with the four enforcement bodies to ensure the service is bedding in effectively and delivering the right outcomes for the public.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effects of the Government’s proposal to freeze the repayment threshold for plan 2 student loans on the amount of money likely to be paid back over the 30 year repayment period.

    Joseph Johnson

    The assessment of additional loan repayments has been set out in the published consultation document which is published here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/freezing-the-student-loan-repayment-threshold

    “