Tag: 2015

  • Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2015 to Question 12970, for what reasons estate agents that do not hold client money fall within the scope of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 sets out what regulated sectors (includes businesses such as estate agents) must do to prevent their services being used for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes. Money laundering can take many forms and in the property sector it often involves: (i) buying property using the proceeds of crime and selling it on; (ii) criminals hiding behind complex structures to disguise the true purpose of the transaction; (iii) paying an estate agent or auctioneer a significant deposit and reclaiming it later; and (iv) using purchase monies from a mortgage fraud.

    Estate agents that do not hold client money fall within the scope of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 in accordance with the requirements of article 2 1. (3) (d) of European directive 2005/60/EC of 26 October 2005 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing.

    The Directive requires estate agents to exercise due diligence and to report suspicious transactions. Suspicious transactions, and preventing the inappropriate use of services, may arise in a variety of ways that do not involve handling funds. Estate agency businesses are well placed as they encounter both parties to the transaction at an early stage.

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

    Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of NHS secondary care centres provide third-party tumour genetic testing in (1) breast cancer, (2) colorectal cancer, (3) lung cancer, and (4) melanoma.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    All NHS England commissioned secondary and tertiary hospitals will be able to collect blood and/or tissue samples for the purpose of genetic testing, depending on the sampling technique required. The testing itself is however usually undertaken by commissioned genetic laboratories, which will typically serve a catchment area much greater than the hospital in which they are based. There will usually be recommended criteria in place to guide National Health Service referrals for genetic testing.

    In a small number of cases, usually for very rare conditions, a test may need to be sent away to a non commissioned laboratory, including some abroad and some falling within the private sector, to access expertise. Funding will, however, continue to be provided from NHS budgets.

    The United Kingdom is also leading the world by using cutting edge technology in the form of whole genome sequencing to transform healthcare and health research. The Prime Minister launched the 100,000 Genomes Project to bring the benefits of genome sequencing to NHS patients. The Project will sequence 100,000 whole human genomes of NHS patients with cancer or a rare disease by the end of 2017. Eleven Genomic Medicine Centres have been established across the country and are recruiting patients to this landmark project. Otherwise, NHS England does not hold data on private or self-funded care or testing commissioned from either NHS or third party laboratories.

    Information on the percentage of eligible patients who received access to genetic testing is not held by NHS England. Due to data protection requirements, detailed data on the reasons for referral for specific tests are not currently aggregated at national level.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with the Department of Health on the rate of people taking their own lives in prisons.

    Andrew Selous

    Every death in custody is a tragedy, and we are committed to reducing the rate of self-inflicted deaths in prisons.

    My department works closely with the Department of Health on measures to reduce suicide in prisons and in the wider community. Both the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Care Quality and I are members of the Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody, which also includes the Minister for Policing, Crime and Criminal Justice and Victims, senior officials from our respective departments and a range of stakeholders. There was a detailed discussion of the recent data on self-inflicted deaths in prisons at the most recent meeting of the Board on 21 October and further consideration of this topic is planned at the February meeting.

    Healthcare staff in prisons play an important role in the identification and management of prisoners at risk of self-harm and suicide. Commissioners and providers of healthcare services are active partners with the National Offender Management Service in its work to prevent self-inflicted deaths in prisons.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Rehman Chishti – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) regulations and (b) guidance apply to Sheriffs breaking into commercial properties to recover debts.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The rules governing the power to enter a commercial property for enforcement by taking control of goods are contained in Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. Enforcement under a High Court Writ, which was the responsibility of Sheriffs, is now carried out by High Court Enforcement Officers pursuant to the High Court Enforcement Officers Regulations 2004. Paragraphs 14 to 30 of Schedule 12 (as amended by the Crime and Courts Act 2013) make provision concerning powers of entry for the purposes of enforcement, and paragraphs 18A and 19 make provision specifically in relation to the power to use reasonable force to enter premises at which the enforcement officer reasonably believes the debtor carries on a trade or a business. The Ministry of Justice has produced guidance, the Taking Control of Goods: National Standards, to support creditors and enforcement agents and promote minimum standards. It is available on the Gov.uk website.

  • John Spellar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    John Spellar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) passenger vehicles, (b) vans, (c) public service vehicles and (d) heavy goods vehicles are licensed; and how many vehicles in each such category (i) use petrol, (ii) use diesel and (iii) are hybrid.

    Andrew Jones

    The numbers of licensed vehicles in the categories requested are shown in the table below.

    Licensed vehicles of selected types of propulsion type in the UK as at 30 June 2015

    Vehicle Body Type

    Petrol

    Diesel

    Hybrid

    Other

    Total

    Passenger Vehicles

    1906892

    11592134

    22382

    5956

    30944434

    Vans

    1414

    3518023

    122

    14328

    3673873

    Public Service Vehicles

    4851

    164107

    1

    504

    169463

    Heavy Goods Vehicles

    2537

    498816

    0

    1085

    502438

    Notes:

    1. Vehicle types shown are based on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency vehicle body type definitions:

    Passenger vehicles = cars; Vans =Light Goods with a gross weight of up to and including 3.5 tonnes; Heavy Goods Vehicles = Goods vehicles with a gross weight of over 3.5 tonnes;

    Public Service Vehicles = Buses and Coaches (including minibuses with 9-16 seats)

    2. Hybrid vehicles may be under-recorded for Public Service Vehicles and Heavy Goods Vehicles: other includes gas and electric

    “

  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people in the social housing sector in Scotland will be affected by changes to the levels of housing benefit; and what the cost of such changes will be to the average household in Scotland.

    Justin Tomlinson

    This policy was introduced because in some areas, increases in social rents have outstripped the increase in private rents.

    The policy to cap social sector rents at the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate for the area from April 2018 only applies to a new tenancy or a tenancy that is renewed after April 2016. As such it isn’t possible to accurately estimate the proportion of those in receipt of Housing Benefit in the social sector that will be affected by this policy, as it relies on the choice of those taking out new tenancies.

    The Discretionary Housing Payment scheme will be available to Local Authorities to protect the vulnerable.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

    Justin Tomlinson

    This information is not available, as there is no central record kept of lost or stolen stationery.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the closure of the competition for carbon capture and storage projects was announced on a Stock Market news website on 25 November 2015, in advance of the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015.

    Damian Hinds

    Following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, it was announced on the London Stock Exchange at 2:57pm on 25 November 2015 that HMG is not providing £1bn capital grant funding.

    We have not taken this decision lightly. However, this was a tight financial settlement and difficult decisions have had to be made. Support for the CCS competition projects has always been conditional on affordability and value for money.

    This decision means that the CCS Competition cannot proceed on its current basis. CCS has a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK and the government is engaging closely with the bidders on the implications of this decision for them.

  • Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

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

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in its report, Is Britain Fairer, published in October 2015, that (a) there are persistent gender pay gaps among graduates and (b) employment and earnings premiums among graduates are lower for women than for men.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The EHRC is an independent body, and its report ‘Is Britain Fairer?’ covers a five-year period 2008-13 across both the Labour and coalition governments. We welcome the positive areas of progress it refers to and note the challenges it raises. The information in the report will be used by the EHRC to help develop its next strategic plan, covering the period 2016-19.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on the introduction of application fees for listed building consent.

    Tracey Crouch

    Ministers are considering a number of measures relating to local Heritage management as part of the Cultural White Paper, which will be published in due course.