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Tag: 2015

  • Chris Law – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Law – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how will HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) operate in the time between closing HMRC centres in Dundee and opening new regional centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the planned locations of its future Regional Centres based on a number of key principles. In addition to cost, HMRC has taken account of the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, and the need to retain the staff and skills they need to continue their transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

    HMRC plans to open two new Regional Centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow, with a combined total of between 5,700 and 6,300 posts.In Dundee, Caledonian House is planned to close in 2018 and Sidlaw House will transfer to the administering of Universal Credit. HMRC will be holding individual meetings with every member of staff prior to any office closures or moves, to discuss what these plans mean for them and their choices.‎

  • Chuka Umunna – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chuka Umunna – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 September 2015 to Question 9220, if she will place in the Library a full breakdown of all refusals since May 2015 for each Standard Occupational Classification code.

    James Brokenshire

    A full breakdown of all refusals since May 2015, for each Standard Occupational Classification code has been produced as a separate document. I will place a copy of this document in the Library of the House of Commons.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which department has overall responsibility for deradicalisation programmes in prisons.

    Lord Faulks

    Deradicalisation work in prisons forms part of the Government’s Prevent strategy, which is the responsibility of the Home Office. The delivery of this work in England and Wales is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice, through the National Offender Management Service. In Scotland, responsibility for delivery lies with the Scottish Government, through the Scottish Prison Service.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 15 of the Office of Rail and Road’s report, Monitoring Highways England, published in October 2015, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of existing data on the delivery of the road investment programme.

    Andrew Jones

    A key element of the recent Roads Reform work was the appointment of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) as the independent monitor of Highways England. The ORR will be working with Highways England to ensure that they have the necessary data and information to perform their role effectively.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to commission a review into the obstacles that prevent more people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds from reaching senior positions in business, similar to the Women on Boards review by Lord Davies of Abersoch.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Government believes that businesses benefit from a rich and wide talent pool including people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

    Government is fully supportive of the private led Diversity initiative chaired by Sir John Parker who are currently considering this issue. We expect the group to report on their findings in 2016.

    There are no current plans for Government to commission a separate review into the obstacles that are preventing more people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds from reaching senior positions in the boardroom.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2015 to Question 11786 and the Answer of 12 October 2015 to Question 10360, on universal credit, whether a box for universal credit exists on NHS charges claim forms.

    Alistair Burt

    Some NHS Help with Health Costs claim forms, for example HC5 refund claim forms, have been amended to include a specific tick box to enable Universal Credit recipients to claim entitlement.

    Form HC1 (NHS Low Income Scheme application form) has been amended to include a sentence about Universal Credit, to advise those applying that until 31 October 2015, anyone in receipt of Universal Credit does not need to complete the form, as they will already be entitled to Help with Health Costs.

    Other forms, including: NHS prescription forms (FP10); dental treatment claim forms (FP17) and claims for NHS funded sight tests (GOS 1) and for vouchers for glasses or contact lenses (GOS 3) will be amended to include a Universal Credit box in due course.

    A patient can make a claim for entitlement by ticking the “gets income based Jobseekers Allowance” on relevant forms. Guidance for both the public and healthcare practitioners (such as pharmacists, dentist and opticians) has been included on NHS Choices with links from the Universal Credit webpages on Gov.uk.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government in what year they estimate that the electrification of the rail line from Cardiff to Swansea will be completed.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Sir Peter Hendy’s report to the Secretary of State on the 25 November 2015 outlined the re-profiling of the electrification of Great Western Route, and confirmed the electrification of the rail line from Cardiff to Swansea is expected to be completed within Control Period 6. This project is at an early stage of development and no single option has been identified. Network Rail continues to develop this vital scheme.

  • 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, whether they plan to require HM Revenue and Customs to work closely with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute in tackling such tax evasion, in particular through Amazon’s and eBay’s online marketplaces.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs is actively targeting operational and intelligence activity to tackle this problem. This involves working closely with a number of external bodies, including Trading Standards.

  • Lord Chidgey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Chidgey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which African countries or regions the BBC World Service has switched from short wave transmission of their radio programmes from London via intermediate transmitters to in-country onward transmission from local FM stations, in each year from 1999 to 2014.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The BBC World Service has advised that they maintained short wave broadcasts to Africa in all languages broadcast since 1999 except: •2010 – Swahili in Kenya •2011 – Portuguese in Southern Africa, primarily Mozambique.

  • Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people smugglers have been apprehended by United Kingdom or other European Union armed forces or law enforcement agencies operating in the Mediterranean area.

    Earl Howe

    As at 10 November 2015, the EU Naval Force Operation in the Mediterranean, Operation SOPHIA, has been involved in identifying 42 suspected migrant smugglers to the Italian authorities for further investigation. Outside of Operation SOPHIA, UK vessels involved in search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean over the period from May to October 2015, have also identified a further 35 suspected smugglers to the Italian authorities.

    The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on the total number of suspected migrant smugglers apprehended by European law enforcement agencies in the Mediterranean this year.