The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-03-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the operation of the Work Programme in rural areas.
Esther McVey
The independent evaluation of the Work Programme includes providers and participants in a range of geographical areas. The Department will publish findings once the evaluation is complete.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Howard of Rising on 2014-06-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money was repaid to taxpayers as a result of overcharging by HM Revenue and Customs in each of 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12 and 2012–13.
Lord Deighton
The information is not available as HM Revenue and Customs does not collect information on amounts underpaid or overpaid.
For many of the taxes that HM Revenue and Customs is responsible for such as income tax and corporation tax, taxpayers are required by law to make payments on account before the ultimate tax liability for the year is known. This can result in overpayments, in which case the taxpayer would be due a refund once the final liability was known. But it can also result in underpayments, in which case HMRC would seek to collect the additional amount owed.
In either case, interest may be due to HMRC or to the taxpayer according to the statutory rates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2014-03-12.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people aged 18 to 24 years old in Scotland have been unemployed for (a) six months, (b) one year, (c) two years and (d) more than two years.
Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Adonis on 2014-06-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many apprenticeship starts there were in public sector employers in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively in total and for each apprenticeship framework; for each year, how many were in (1) central government, and (2) local government, in total; and for each year and type of public sector employer, how many of those apprentices were aged (a) 16–18, (b) 19–24, or (c) over 25, when starting their apprenticeship.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We do not separately measure the number of apprenticeship starts in the public and private sector.
Information on the number of Apprenticeship starts by Sector Subject Area is published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 27th March 2014 and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-heldhttps://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships–2
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Gregory Campbell on 2014-03-12.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps are being taken by the Electoral Commission in Northern Ireland to promote electoral registration in rural areas where residents live some distance from permanent electoral offices.
Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission informs me that it runs public awareness campaigns across Northern Ireland to encourage electors to register to vote. Its most recent campaign was conducted during the 2013 canvass of electors when all households in Northern Ireland were contacted. It also plans to conduct a public awareness campaign ahead of the upcoming elections this May.
The Chief Electoral Officer is responsible for maintaining the electoral register in Northern Ireland and the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland run a number of registration and electoral identity clinics throughout Northern Ireland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2014-06-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the changes to service provision at the Cannock Chase Minor Injuries Unit onemergency departments in Staffordshire and Wolverhampton.
Earl Howe
The reconfiguration of local health services is a matter for the National Health Service. All service changes should be led by clinicians and be in the best interests of patients, not driven from the top down.
We are aware that local general practitioners in Cannock Chase Clinical Commissioning Group are currently developing proposals for the future configuration of the Cannock Chase Minor Injuries Unit. Any proposed service redesign would be subject to public consultation in due course. No decisions on the future of the unit have been made yet.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-03-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Warrington currently have benefits of which type paid into a Post Office card account.
Steve Webb
The information is not available in the format requested as data held relates to payment accounts rather than people. A customer may receive benefits in the form of a separate payment for each benefit to which they are entitled or a single, combined payment. Each of these payments is termed a payment account which would be paid into the same Post Office card account.
The number of payment accounts paid into a Post Office Card Account split by benefit type in Warrington Local Authority as at February 2013 is shown in the table below.
Number of payment accounts paid via a Post Office Card Account by benefit type in Warrington Local Authority: February 2013
|
Total Benefits paid via Post Office Card Accounts |
9,540 |
|
Attendance Allowance |
390 |
|
Bereavement Benefit |
10 |
|
Disability Living Allowance |
1,260 |
|
Employment and Support Allowance |
610 |
|
Incapacity Benefit |
200 |
|
Carer’s Allowance |
170 |
|
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit |
190 |
|
Income Support |
480 |
|
Jobseeker’s Allowance |
440 |
|
Pension Credit |
1,730 |
|
State Pension |
3,970 |
|
Severe Disablement Benefit |
90 |
|
Widow’s Benefit |
10 |
Source: DWP Information, Governance & Security Directorate, 100% data
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Figures refer to payment accounts. Claimants with more than one account will be counted for each account. Figures only relate to accounts live and in payment on the specified date.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2014-06-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to protect vulnerable people from radicalisation.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
Prevent, which is a key strand of the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy, aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. The Prevent strategy, which was revised in 2011, now covers all forms of extremism where it creates an environment conducive to terrorism.
The Prevent strategy has three objectives: respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it; prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensuring that they are given appropriate advice and support; and work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation that we need to address.
Frontline staff have a significant role to play. We have produced a training tool, ‘Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent’ (WRAP), which teaches staff how to recognise people who may be vulnerable to radicalisation and how to refer people who may need support to our Channel programme.
Channel is a key element of the Prevent strategy, and was rolled out nationally in April 2012. It uses existing collaboration between local authorities, the police, the local community and statutory partners (such as the education and health sectors, social services, children’s and youth services, and offender management services), to identify individuals at risk of being drawn into terrorism, assess the nature and extent of that risk; and develop the most appropriate support plan for the individuals concerned.
Since roll-out, over 2000 Channel referrals have been received, and over 300 people offered support. We are working to increase awareness of Channel, particularly among public sector frontline staff, in order to maximise the number of appropriate referrals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlie Elphicke on 2014-03-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department made before the 2012 Budget of the effect on stamp duty land tax and inheritance tax receipts of the introduction of a so-called mansion tax designed to raise a net sum of £2 billion per annum.
David Gauke
The number of residential properties in the UK valued at more than £2 million was estimated before Budget 2012 to be around 55,000.
Before Budget 2012, an assessment of the average annual payment required from each property above £2 million in order to raise a net sum of £2 billion per annum was not made.
On 1 July 2013, during Report stage of the Finance Bill, I referred to “a simple calculation arrived at by dividing £2 billion by 55,000 (an internal HMRC estimate of the number of properties valued at over £2 million) to give a ‘mean’ average of £36,000.”
A so-called mansion tax would depress stamp duty land tax and inheritance tax yields. The exact impact would be dependent on the rates and bands chosen.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by (3) the release of prisoners held for political reasons on 2014-06-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they and the European Union have made to the government of Turkey concerning (1) attacks on and imprisonment of journalists, including the deaths of staff of Özgür Gündem”
Baroness Warsi
We recognise the concerns over the specific cases raised in the question. Although we have not made representations on those specific cases, together with our EU partners, we continue to have a frequent and comprehensive dialogue with the Turkish authorities on human rights and Kurdish issues.
The attacks on and imprisonment of Kurdish journalists and lawyers reflects the wider issue of the need to protect fundamental freedoms in Turkey. We share the concerns of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the EU Commission over freedom of expression and separation of powers between the judiciary and the government. We will continue to work closely with the EU delegation in Ankara and with the EU Commission in Brussels and maintain our engagement with Turkey to encourage progress on governance and human rights issues.
Despite these challenges, we are encouraged by the positive steps taken by the Turkish government to improve protections for minorities. The EU Commission’s 2013 Annual Progress Report recognised the significance of the 4th Judicial Reform and Democratization Packages and specifically the progress made on the reform of the legal framework for terrorist offences. Further narrowing of the scope of this legal framework would aid the development of a genuinely open and free press.