The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hamwee on 2015-12-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the report by James Ewins of his review of the overseas domestic workers visa, and their response to it, before the Immigration Bill 2015 receives its second reading in this House.
Lord Bates
Mr Ewins’s report has been submitted to the Home Office and will be published shortly. The Government will announce its response to the report in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost of providing pension credit was to people in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Glasgow and (d) Glasgow East constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Justin Tomlinson
Due to the geographical level of information requested it has been assumed that the question refers to benefit expenditure.
The information on requested is shown in the table below.
Tables show expenditure for Great Britain, not the UK, as expenditure in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive.
| Pension Credit Expenditure £ million | 2014/15 |
| Great Britain | 6,576.1 |
| Scotland | 587.4 |
| Glasgow (City) | 108.6 |
| Glasgow East (constituency) | 19.1 |
Benefit expenditure information is published and can be found using the following URL:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-12-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 22 July (HL1265), how they reconcile their claim that 95 per cent of the cabin air samples taken in the Cranfield air quality study showed no detectable amounts of tri-cresyl phosphate (TCP) or tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP) when Part 2 of the final report shows that TCP and TOCP were detected in 25 per cent of the 100 samples.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The study itself concludes that “It is notable that no detectable amount of TOCP or other TCPs were found in over 95% of the cabin air samples.” The Government has taken this peer-reviewed finding at face value and sees no reason to dispute the conclusions of the report.
The study was published in two parts, Part 1 containing the conclusions and Part 2 setting out the raw data. During analysis some of the data samples in Part 2 were discounted from the study due to various reasons such as fault with the equipment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Nokes on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to clause 1 of the Childcare Bill, what categories of childcare provider she plans to include in an independent review of the free childcare entitlement funding system.
Mr Sam Gyimah
I announced in the summer that a government review of the cost of providing childcare was underway. The review which began well before clause 1 was inserted into the Bill, is being led by the Department with external support from Deloitte. Findings from the review will inform decisions made as part of the Spending Review.
The government review is considering a significant body of evidence on the provision of childcare across a range of provider types, including private, voluntary and independent providers, childminders and schools. As part of the review, we have engaged extensively with providers from across the sector. Our call for evidence received over 2000 responses, the majority of which were from providers and our online questionnaire had over 19,300 responses. We held a series of roundtables over the summer across the country and have also worked with 10 large employers (including Carillion, John Lewis Partnership, Rolls Royce and BT), and through them have engaged over 180 parents in a series of events. These have provided a valuable opportunity to engage with providers face to face.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-12-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what practical assistance they are providing to Burma to help that country in its democratic transition following the elections on 8 November.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Our package of development assistance to Burma this year is £82 million and we have allocated £25 million between 2014 and 2019 specifically to strengthen democratic governance in Burma. This sum included support to elections through the provision of technical advice to the Burmese election commission, voter education and building capacity in monitoring and observation of the electoral process.
Following the November elections, we will continue to engage with Burma to encourage the country along its journey of democratic reform. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), called Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on 10 November to offer continued political and economic support for the people of Burma. We will of course keep in close contact on a range of topics and look forward to working with the new administration, which takes office in March 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what additional financial support he plans to make available to the NHS to deal with pressure on services in winter 2015-16.
Mr Jeremy Hunt
£400 million in resilience money has been invested in the National Health Service for this winter. Learning from previous years, we have put this money into the NHS baseline for 2015/16 so that the NHS can plan effectively at an earlier stage.
There will be no further additional money for the NHS ahead of winter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2015 to Question 18024, when he plans for the membership of the Institute for Apprenticeships to be announced.
Nick Boles
The Chair and Board Members will be appointed through public appointments. The outcome will be announced as soon as the process allows in 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many breaches of government websites occurred in 2014.
Lord Bridges of Headley
For security reasons we do not comment on specific details of cyber security attacks. The Government takes cyber security very seriously; from 2011 to 2016, we have invested £860 million in a National Cyber Security Programme. We plan to almost double investment in cyber security to £1.9bn over the next five years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many completed inspections were carried out by HM Revenue and Customs as part of its duty to enforce minimum wage legislation in 2014-15.
Mr David Gauke
The Government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage not only have to pay back arrears of wages at current minimum wage rates but also face financial penalties of up to £20,000 per underpaid worker.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforces the national minimum wage (NMW) legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). It does so by investigating all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, and carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.
I refer the honourable member to the answer provided at UIN 28587 for information on recovery of arrears and on the number of incidences of non-compliance on 26 November 2015.
In 2014/15, HMRC issued financial penalties on 735 employers totalling £934,660 for non-compliance with NMW legislation.
In 2014/15, HMRC completed 2,204 investigations as part of its duty to enforce minimum wage legislation.
Any worker who believes that they are being paid below the minimum wage should contact Acas on 0300 123 1100. HMRC reviews every complaint that Acas refer to it but these may not always lead to an investigation. In 2014/15, HMRC received 2489 worker complaints via the helpline.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent report from B’Tselem about the closure policy imposed in Jerusalem, what discussions they have had with the government of Israel regarding the new restrictions placed on Palestinians living in East Jerusalem that limit their movement.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement in East Jerusalem. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised this issue with Israeli National Security Advisor Cohen on 2 November. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem also raised this issue with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October.